The Lion King: Birth of the Black Prince
by Crusader Dragon Alpha
Summary: (First attempt at a Lion King fanfic. Read warning in prologue. Story split into two parts. Features Vitani x OC.) There is a question as old as war itself: If someone is trying to kill you, are you not to rise up and kill them first? When the Royal Family of the Pridelands takes in an outsider, new revelations thrust Simba and his family in the last place he'd ever want them...
1. Forewarning - Prologue

**The Lion King:**

 **Birth**

 **Of The**

 **Black Prince**

(I in no way own Disney's The Lion King nor any other content used in this story that comes from elsewhere.)

Forewarning

 _Before I proceed with this story, reader, I feel it prudent to warn you: This story is vastly different than standard stories written of the Lion King. This story will feature the characters of said franchise as Anthro characters. It will also involve the Pridelands as being a proud city-state among other such states. A beacon of civilization, if you will, sitting amidst other states of significantly less cultural, technological, and civil development. Most importantly, however, though I shan't give much in the way of details, it will involve the characters in two distinctly different situations: Part One will involve them trying to solve a mystery set around a recent arrival in the Pridelands, while at the same time befriending him and developing ties to him; Part Two will involve them in a military situation in which they will both make an interesting discovery and be forced to fight their first full-scale war. If any of what I have already said is not something you would like to see, or offends you in anyway, I urge you to close the tab this story is on and not read this tale, for this story will not be one you enjoy._

 _Still here? Good. Now then, with all that said, I feel it time to get on with the story. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride..._

Prologue

 _There is a question as old as war itself: If someone is trying to kill you, are you not to rise up and kill them first? Know then, that this tale is set in the times following the incident now being called the Unification Incident – where Princess Kiara of the Pridelands and now-Prince Kovu of the Outlands united the two states as one. As the Outlanders made themselves at home in the Pridelands, Simba and his wife, Nala, got used to seeing Kovu with Kiara. The two states were united in celebration when the two wed, further cementing their place in the Pridelands and the newfound sense of unity. The Pridelands went on in a golden age of prosperity – war became a thing to read about and see in movies and shows depicting heroic characters modeled after the royal family fighting to preserve peace and justice. The occasional dispute between the Pridelands and neighboring states was settled peacefully with no use of force, and things were going so well, that the Pridelands almost never had to call on their Lioness Fighting Forces._

 _In this time, Kovu's sister, Vitani, began having dreams of what could only be termed as the arrival of her soulmate. Even the aged Rafiki agreed with this supposition. Though the man in Vitani's dream was distinctly human, he had qualities that made him unique – such as sapphire eyes like nothing ever seen in the Pridelands, and an infectious smile that Vitani couldn't stop herself from smiling at every time she remembered it. She eagerly awaited the arrival of this man, though even she was in the dark as to how he would come to the Pridelands._

 _But soon, the golden age of the Pridelands will be torn asunder, and new revelations will thrust Simba and his family into a place they never expected to be. This tale begins one fateful night as Vitani, Kovu, and Kiara are out among the Pridelands, trying to find the reason for Vitani's sudden feeling that something was horribly wrong on this cold, bitter night..._

 **/ \\\\\\\\\**

Vitani walked at a brisk pace, and her brother and sister-in-law had to work to keep up. They'd been walking for hours, starting just before sundown, and still going well into the nighttime hours. The streetlights showed the way, and it was evident tonight was only going to get colder – it was already cold enough for Vitani to see her own breath as she breathed heavily, trying to follow her feeling to it's source.

"Slow down, Vitani," Kovu panted.

"Vitani, how can you tell some-" Kiara started.

"I just know it!" Vitani cut her off. "I felt it! The cold, the feeling, the scream – it's just wrong!"

"Another of your psychic flashes?" Kovu asked.

"No, I believe her on the scream – I heard it, myself; dad did, too," Kiara told him.

"If someone screamed, maybe they're hurt," Kovu suggested.

"That's why I had Simba summon his medical team – whoever it was, they may need our help," Vitani said gruffly. She turned to face Pridelands Zira Memorial Park when she tripped on something and barely had time to break her fall with her hands, thereby avoiding landing on her face. She looked at her feet, and right there, just shy of the park gates, was something that did not belong in the slightest.

A gun – a rifle, though this particular model eluded Vitani. It was colored steel-black, with what seemed to be glowing green outlines, a sort of mini-scope, another sight completely alien to Vitani, and a collapsible stock.

"What is that?" Kovu asked.

"I'm not sure," Kiara admitted. Vitani sat up, then got to one knee, picking the weapon up as she rose to her feet. It was then that she saw what she nearly landed in; she was so transfixed on the weapon and where she landed, she didn't see it earlier – a fluid, a glowing, neon-green puddle. She knelt down beside the puddle, fully aware that there was nothing in the Pridelands that would have this sort of fluid. She dipped a finger in it, then retracted it, lifting the sample on her finger up to her nose to take a whiff of it. It had a metallic smell – copperish, like...

"... Blood," she said, both as a statement and a realization. "Whoever's blood this is, they're hurt badly."

"Let's hope Simba can get here in time," Kovu commented worriedly.

"Vitani, look!" Kiara exclaimed quietly, pointing to something just ahead. Vitani squinted and saw what Kiara was indicating: a trail of the same glowing neon-green blood. It went further into the park.

"This doesn't feel right," Vitani murmured.

"I'm beginning to agree with you," Kovu said.

"Do we follow it?" Kiara asked.

"Not much choice," Vitani replied. "Whoever this is, they're injured. They need our help." She went along the trail of blood, following it deeper into the park. The deeper they went, the less abundant the light was, until it became so dark, the only source of light was that of the moon. Still, the trio followed the trail until they came upon a disturbing scene:

Lying on a park bench was a human, dressed in tattered clothes, bleeding that same neon-green blood, with shards of glass sticking out of his back and his blood pooling beneath the bench. Vitani rushed over to the man, where it became clear he was still alive. His breathing was erratic, and he kept muttering to himself. It was clear this man was slipping in and out of consciousness, and was having one hell of a nightmare. Vitani looked back at Kiara. "Kiara, get Simba and his medics! Get them here, quickly!" Vitani commanded. Kiara nodded and rushed off, and Kovu stepped closer to the bleeding man.

"Vitani... we need to get him to the medical facility at Pride Rock," Kovu said.

"I know, I-" Vitani started, stopping on seeing this man's face. She couldn't believe her eyes. This man... he was the one from her dreams! His face was a perfect match! "Kovu... this is the man from my dream!" she gasped.

Kovu's attention was elsewhere. He gently shook the man in an effort to try and wake him. "Hey, buddy – can you-"

Bad move. The man awoke with a terrified scream, and it became clear he was armed with some sort of energy sword – the second he woke, an imperial crimson blade flared with a _snap-hiss_ and he swung it at Kovu; Kovu barely had time to duck under the blade. Vitani put herself between the man and Kovu, both hands raised. "Easy, easy, sir! Easy! It's alright!" she spoke to him, trying to calm him down. "We're here to help! It's okay!" The man, though evidently in incredible pain, looked astonished to see Vitani; his face portrayed an expression that looked as though he was seeing a friend he thought had died. He frowned, and his weapon slowly lowered, then extinguished, as he spoke with a voice that sounded as though he recognized her,

 _"_ _... Vitani?"_ Vitani was shocked. How the hell did he know who she was? Had they met before? Vitani didn't have time to ponder this, however – the man suddenly lost his balance and plummeted to the ground. Kovu was quick to catch him. It was at this moment that Simba arrived, lead by Kiara. The medical staff was right behind them. When Simba saw the man's wounds, he barely was able to keep from vomiting. The medical staff hauled the injured man away, and Simba approached Vitani.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"That man... was the one from my dream," Vitani admitted.

"What happened to him?" Simba queried.

"I don't know; all we can do is wait for the medics to patch him up and get a report from one of them," Vitani responded. "But I'm convinced _something_ happened – both to bring him here, and to cause wounds like that. It'll be a miracle if he survives."

"But your visions were clear on him – he would be your soulmate. I've no doubt he'll survive," Simba assured her.

"I hope you're right," Vitani sighed. Looking at the pool of blood, she added, "Whatever it is that's going on... this is just the beginning."


	2. Chapter One

**Part I:**

 **Nothing To Lose**

Chapter One

Vitani, Simba and Nala waited outside the Medical facility at Pride Rock, awaiting the medics' report. It had been nearly three hours since Vitani, Kovu and Kiara had found the man bleeding to death in the park. While hopeful the man would survive, they feared he wouldn't – his wounds were just too severe. Vitani held onto the man's weapon – at least, she _thought_ it was his – as they waited. She was still in shock over however it was that he knew her. Could it be that he had dreams of her, as she did of him? It was difficult to say.

One of the doctors came out to speak to Simba, and Nala and Vitani both were behind Simba. "What's the word, Doc?" Simba asked.

The doctor – an Avian – sighed heavily. Vitani braced herself for bad news. "He... he will make it." Vitani felt a wave of relief. From his tone, she had feared he'd say the man had died. But what was said next only made Vitani more worried: "But how he survived this, I cannot explain."

"What do you mean?" Nala asked.

"This man, whoever he is, shouldn't be alive; we pulled over a dozen metal fragments out of his chest – two of which nearly clipped his heart – and more than twice that many pieces of glass out of his back. The blood loss alone should have killed him; all we can say is, somehow, the gauntlets he was wearing may be a contributing factor to his survival," the doctor explained.

"Gauntlets?" Simba asked.

"I can't say I'm familiar with the technology in them – but I think they kept him alive," the doctor responded. "We tried to remove one, and the patient nearly went into cardiac arrest. Regardless, he'll survive, but I can't explain how."

"Do you know what caused those wounds?" Simba inquired.

"Not a clue," the doctor responded. "I sent the medical report and the fragments of metal and glass to the lab for analysis. I'll know more in a few days."

"What about the weapon he was carrying – the sword?" Vitani queried.

"That's even scarier," the doctor responded, indicating the said "sword" Vitani had in her grasp. "It's something from the Human homeland – a Lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi. What gets me, is, the humans themselves don't actually have that level of technology. It was something in their media shows and movies."

"So where the hell did he get one?" Nala asked.

"I wish I knew," the doctor admitted. " We found a second lightsaber that dropped from his clothes before we started the operation." The doctor tossed the said weapon to Vitani. "Regardless, I would strongly advise one of you keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't hurt himself any more than he already is."

"I'll handle that," Vitani volunteered, before Simba could speak. "Just move him to my domicile when he's fit to move."

"The med techs are bandaging his wounds right now, we'll have him moving within the hour. If you will excuse me," the doctor said. Simba nodded, and the doctor left, after which Simba and Nala turned to Vitani.

"Vitani, are you sure you want to have him in your domicile? Kovu told us-" Nala started.

"I know what Kovu said... but something tells me I'm the only one he's gonna trust right now," Vitani interrupted. "When we were face to face... he somehow recognized me, and it caused him to pause. I get the distinct impression he knows me, and therefore trusts me."

"It could be something else," Simba suggested. "He's from the human homeland, so..."

"Would it matter?" Vitani countered. "He trusts me, whereas Kovu nearly got decapitated when he tried to wake him, and had I not stepped in, I can't say to what would have happened. Just seeing me... stopped him."

"She's got a point, Simba," Nala told Simba. "I'm not at all certain having Timon and Pumba watching him would be a good idea, not after he survived... whatever it was, exactly, that he survived. If he trusts Vitani, who are we to argue?"

Simba grumbled quietly, but nodded in agreement. "Very well. Just be careful, Vitani – we still don't know who he is, much less how he got here, and in that condition. I agree with you in that _something_ happened to him, and I'd very much like to know what." With that said, Simba walked off in another direction.

"He seems worried," Vitani noted.

"I can't say I blame him," Nala replied. "Truth be told, I share his concerns; whatever happened to him that left him in that state may have affected his mind, as well – you saw it, when he nearly took off Kovu's head."

"Would you be any different if you had been in his condition and woke up in unfamiliar territory?" Vitani asked.

"I could not tell you that until I know what happened to him," Nala responded.

"Point is, he was injured, confused, and from the look on his face, he was terrified – he doesn't know where he is, much less who he can trust, and when he wakes up, we're gonna have to come up with some way to convince him to trust us," Vitani explained.

"He's not gonna have much choice, but I can still see your reasoning on the matter. Frankly, I'm just as shocked as you that he survived whatever this is. But from the doctor's report... metal fragments in his chest? Glass shards in his back? Call me on jumping to conclusions, but it sounds a lot like he was hit by a bomb and blown through a glass window," Nala speculated.

Vitani paused to consider this. While there was presently no evidence, Nala's theory just happened to fit the facts. But, if she was correct, what _were_ the exact circumstances? And how did he end up in the Pridelands?

The medics and nurses came out, wheeling the man Vitani had rescued in the park on a wheeled stretcher. It was then that she had an idea. "We shouldn't delve into his past right away – we should first try to befriend him. When he wakes up, he's gonna have a lot of questions."

"Indeed," Nala agreed as they watched the unconscious man being taken to Vitani's domicile. "Maybe we should start with his name."

"I was thinking that, too – and a name might ease Simba's worries, if only a little," Vitani said. She then walked in the direction of her domicile, where she stopped in the guest room just in time to see the medics gently put the unconscious man in the bed there. Once they'd left, Vitani sat down in a nearby chair, watching him. He just lay still, breathing steadily and remaining unmoving, aside from the occasional twitch.

"I doubt he'll wake up that fast," said Kovu's voice. "From what I heard, the doc had to give him heavy sedatives to keep him still so they could operate." Vitani looked to the doorway and saw Kovu standing there with Kiara.

"He may still wake up soon," Vitani stubbornly maintained. "You saw it in the park – he has nightmares. It's why the doctors had to sedate him."

"You're thinking that, when the sedatives wear off, a nightmare may wake him?" Kovu surmised.

"At least a possibility," Kiara stated. "Mom was speculating to dad during the operation that whatever happened to him was severe enough to give him nightmares."

"And I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes," Vitani concluded. "He's gonna have a lot of questions."

"How is it you know all this?" Kovu inquired.

"Think about it, Kovu," Vitani told him. "Put yourself in his shoes; you're gravely injured, near death, and you suddenly get plucked from where you are and dropped in a completely unfamiliar environment, no familiar faces but one you somehow recognize. How terrified would you be?"

"O... kay, yeah – you have a point there," Kovu admitted. "But what if he doesn't know what we want to know?"

"We're not going to delve into that – not now," Vitani said. "For now, we just comfort him and try to get him to trust us, answer whatever questions he has... the way I see it, he's going to be confused and scared. I would be, too, if I were in his position."

The conversation was interrupted as the man groaned, moving onto his side. Then he twitched violently, then again, and again, muttering in his sleep. "No... no... you... bast... you..."

"He must be having a hell of a nightmare," Kovu commented. Vitani had her attention fully fixed on her new roommate. The twitching, the injuries, and how he seemed to be seeing someone in his dream... she began to suspect that whatever happened to him had been the work of someone else – someone who intentionally harmed him and left him in that state. For a moment, just on the threshold of consciousness, Vitani could swear she heard a distant explosion – but she daren't ponder it, as the second she heard that blast, the man of her dreams woke with a scream, the scream of a man who had seen something truly unspeakable, a terrifying crime that was committed against them – and lived to tell the tale. Kovu leapt back, Kiara dashed for cover outside the room, and Vitani was startled into tripping on the chair she was sitting in. The man scrambled, but with his drained strength, fell out of the bed and hit the floor with a loud _thunk!_ He scrambled his legs, trying to back up, but he was already backed against the nightstand. Vitani was the first to recover and stood up. She raised her hands to show she was unarmed, but the man wasn't having it – he reached out, and the rifle Vitani found – which was leaning against the far wall – flew into his hands, and he turned it on Vitani.

"Stay back!" he shouted.

"Easy, sir!" she said as calmly as she could, present circumstances considered. "It's alright! You're safe! You're safe." The man still held the rifle pointed at her, but shifted his aim to Kovu. Vitani put herself between the two, keeping her arms out in plain view. "It's alright," she told him reassuringly. "You're safe – we're not going to hurt you. We're actually trying to help you."

"You were pretty banged up when we found you," Kovu added in. "Honestly, we're surprised you survived, given the severity of your injuries."

"We brought you here after we found you in the park – do you remember?" Kiara asked, now coming back into the room. The man's aim shifted back at Vitani. His eyes were a brilliant violet hue, but he panted and his hold on the rifle shook.

"Where am I?" he finally spoke.

"You're at Pride Rock," Vitani answered. She slowly approached him, eventually getting within arm's reach of the rifle, and gently pushed it away. "It's alright – I'm a friend." She indicated Kovu and Kiara. "We're friends – your friends. I'm Vitani – that's my brother, Kovu, and his wife, Kiara. What's your name?"

The weapon the man had slipped from his grasp, and it dropped to the floor. He was silent for a long time before he finally answered, "Drakona... Tyber Drakona."

"Well, Tyber, you were badly injured, but luckily, we were able to patch you up – but I think it'll be a while before we can get you on your feet again," Vitani said. She reached out to help him up, but her hands were swatted away by Tyber, evidently not wanting assistance. He then painstakingly got himself back into the bed, where he sighed in relief, then telekinetically pulled the rifle back into his hand again, then removed the magazine, visually inspecting it, and loading it back in.

"Thank the Force this thing's still loaded..." he muttered.

"Tyber... if I may, what exactly is that?" Kovu asked.

"It's one of my Force-creations – an AR197 Dual-Purpose Assault Rifle," Tyber answered.

"You _created_ that?" Kiara asked, shocked.

"Created it... designed it... brought it from my mind into reality with aid of the Force, much like most of my possessions," Tyber affirmed. "I cannot explain how I do it – it is something... instinctual."

"Interesting... but I don't think you'll need a dual-purpose assault rifle here in the Pridelands," Kiara said.

"Yeah... unless you're expecting someone to attack you?" Kovu agreed.

"I neither expect nor presume anything, Kovu – but, where I'm from, it's better to have something and not need it... than to need it and not have it," Tyber responded.

"That... actually makes sense," Kovu said. "But still... why an assault rifle? Did you fight a war or something?"

"War..." Tyber repeated. "... call it that. A war I fought. A war of survival. A war of justice. A war to keep my very sanity... intact."

"We don't want to go into that topic," Vitani said, "Not when you just woke up."

"I'll..." Tyber grunted, shifting in bed a bit. "... I'll agree to that – the less said, the better."

"If we're not discussing distant history, let's talk recent – do you know how you got here?" Kovu asked.

Tyber lifted his head to look at Kovu with a frown on his face. "You mean _you_ _don't_? I assumed it was one of you who brought me here."

Kovu frowned. "Why would we have brought you here?" he asked.

Tyber let his head back down, resting on the pillow. "Why, indeed..." he replied. "One has to wonder... if there isn't some unidentified party in this." Tyber looked to Vitani. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," Vitani answered. "You were severely injured when we found you."

"Injured... yes, speaking of which, Kovu – no hard feelings about nearly decapitating you," Tyber apologized.

"I'm not holding it against you," Kovu told him. "I suppose, were I in your position, I'd react no different."

"Perhaps... but I think we have spoken enough, and I do not wish to hold you from your affairs," Tyber stated. "I wish to be alone, to think."

Wordlessly, Vitani, Kovu and Kiara all left the room. Hours later, before retiring for bed herself, Vitani would return to find Tyber out cold and snoring.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Vitani was among the first to awaken in the royal family's domicile area. She walked out to the main hall, and was greeted by an unfamiliar smell. Simba was at the table enjoying his morning drink, and Nala was sitting next to him. Simba looked up and spotted Vitani, greeting her with,

"You're up early. Sleep well? Did your friend have any more nightmares?"

"None that I am aware of – what's with the smell?" Vitani asked.

Simba indicated the counter next to Vitani, where a mechanical brewing device sat, brewing this black drink. "Coffee," he explained. "Most humans like it, and I thought it'd be nice to have a pot for Tyber when he wakes up."

"Thoughtful, but we don't know if he'll drink it," Vitani stated.

"He will – I asked him, myself, just before he fell asleep last night," Simba assured her. The conversation was interrupted by a strange, brief shriek that came from Vitani's domicile. Simba, Nala and Vitani all rushed to the room where Tyber was, who was on the floor, rifle in hand, staring at a scorch mark that was now in the headboard.

"That was close..." he commented.

"Are you alright?" Vitani asked in concern.

"I'll let you know when I figure that out," Tyber responded. He scoffed, adding, "That's the last time I sleep with the disruptor armed..."

"Disruptor...?" Nala repeated.

"Yeah, energy weapon – disintegrates steel, wood, flesh, damn near anything. Powerful weapon," Tyber said. "Must've been a muscle spasm that triggered it."

"Why were you sleeping with a-" Simba started, but was cut off when Nala swatted him upside the head. She didn't speak it, but Simba got the message:

 _"_ _He has his reasons; don't question them."_

Tyber struggled to his feet, rebuffing Vitani when she tried to help. "Tyber, I'm not trying to hurt you, but your body won't easily recover from your ordeal if you insist on doing everything yourself."

"I've got this; I'll be fine," Tyber growled.

"No, you're _not_ fine," Vitani snapped. "Not even close. Whatever you survived, it left you in a severely weakened state, and you'll stay in that weakened state if you keep trying to do everything yourself in this condition." An uncomfortable pause followed Vitani's statement. "There will be times you have to swallow that stubborn pride of yours and accept help that comes your way. I get that you are an independent-"

"No, I'm not," Tyber interrupted. "Until last night, I never was independent."

Comprehension struck like lightning to Vitani. Speaking softly, she told him, "I understand your desire to be independent. I really do. I don't know what denied you that, and I'm not trying to take it from you. But you are presently in no condition to be such. Whatever happened to you, it nearly killed you. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you're still alive, given how badly injured you were. But please believe that we want nothing more than to help you."

Tyber said nothing, just stared Vitani in the eyes, where she noticed his eyes change color from red to purple. He again tried getting to his feet, but when Vitani reached down to help him, he didn't rebuff her. She hefted one arm over her shoulders, then, holding that arm with her right hand, wrapped her left arm around Tyber's side. It was as she and Tyber got out to the main hall that Tyber made a different comment: "Why do I smell coffee?"

"Simba was brewing a pot for you," Nala said. "He wanted one ready for when you woke up."

"Oh... thank you, sir," Tyber said, gesturing with his free hand. As though by some invisible force, the mug that Simba had left out moved, the pot pouring coffee, then came two teaspoons of sugar, then a liquid creamer, the teaspoon stirred the drink, and the mug then floated to Tyber as Vitani gently sat him down.

"How... how did you do that?" Simba asked in complete bewilderment.

"I may not be allowed to do much physically, but you'll find I can still do a lot through the Force," Tyber said before taking a sip of his coffee. He winced, looked at the coffee, then asked, "Which brand did you use?"

"I'm not entirely sure – something called 'Gevalia'. Why, wrong brand?" Simba responded.

"On the contrary – I very much enjoy Gevalia, sir – if I have the taste right, you used the French Roast. I was a bit taken aback by it, that's all. If I may, where'd you get it?" Tyber inquired.

Simba smiled. "Your people and mine have what you call a Trade Agreement. We trade our goods with them, and they trade theirs with us. One of those goods was coffee – many here in the Pridelands have begun to enjoy it. Admittedly, I was considering it, myself."

"Well, if you do that, don't do what I did and drink it too much – your body will get addicted to it, and you go too long without it after that, you tend to get some bad side-effects. Personally, I get _really_ bad migraines when I go too long without coffee," Tyber explained.

"I'll keep that in mind," Simba chuckled.

It was then that another voice made itself known. "So, you're the guy that Vitani rescued last night. Glad I got to finally meet you." Tyber's eyes shifted to red and he looked at Timon, who was approaching from the entrance to the royal family domicile area.

"Tyber, that's Timon," Simba said. "Timon, this is Tyber Drakona."

"Tyber, eh? Hnh... anyway, Simba, how much stuff did you buy for this guy?" Timon asked Simba. Simba frowned.

"Buy...? I didn't buy anything!" Simba said indignantly.

"Then who did?" Timon queried. "There's a bunch of stuff sitting just outside the entrance there, and it's all addressed to him!" Timon indicated Tyber. Tyber's brow furrowed in concern.

"I don't suppose you saw who left it there, did you?" he asked.

"Nope – all Pumba and I saw was a flash of light, and then, _poof!_ There it all was!" Timon responded.

"Was it an instant flash, or did the light flare for a few seconds before it vanished?" Tyber asked.

"It flared for about five, six seconds... wait, do you know what that was?" Timon asked back.

"Admittedly, I was going to ask the same thing, Tyber," Simba agreed. "You seem to know about this kind of anomaly."

"The light, what color was it?" Tyber queried.

"It was a light green color, why?" Timon responded. Tyber sat back, the expression on his face portraying grave concern.

"Tyber... what was it?" Vitani asked.

"... Transporter beam," Tyber finally said. "A Force-Invention I had been working on. Nearly had it finished, too. It would teleport anything – or anyone – I wanted from one location to another." He mumbled something to himself, then asked, "Who had access to my transporters, and what did they send me...?"

"Could it be that whoever rescued you from... the incident... and brought you here, could have sent you what belongings of yours they could recover?" Vitani suggested. Tyber turned his head to look her in the eyes. His eyes went from purple to blue, and he closed them briefly, then opened them again.

"A distinct possibility, but that would beg the question of who rescued me and why they're trying to help me," he answered.

"If they're trying to help you, that's gotta be a good thing," Nala said.

"Good thing, maybe," Tyber stated, "But I find it very disturbing – no one has ever shown any real desire to aid me – least of all like this – and I'm wondering why they're helping from the shadows."

"What do you think it is?" Simba asked.

"This smells very clandestine to me – whoever is doing this doesn't want to be seen helping me," Tyber speculated.

"Why would they want that?" Nala asked.

"There could be a variety of reasons," Tyber said. "Not wanting to tip off any enemies, fear of being caught by said enemies or any local law enforcement, not being ready to reveal who they are... take your pick." He paused, blinked twice, and made a face of dawning comprehension.

"You look like you have an idea," Simba commented.

"Indeed," Tyber affirmed. "One of my Force-Inventions was a Tricorder."

"Tricorder?" Vitani queried.

"I've heard of them," Kovu responded. "It's a hand-held scanning device."

"If my Tricorder is among the items brought here, I might be able to scan the vicinity where the transport occurred – that might give me an idea of who used it," Tyber suggested.

"Well, as Vitani told you, you're in no condition to go anywhere," Nala said sternly. After a pause, she added, "But we can help you retrieve your Tricorder and keep you upright so you can run the scan. Good enough?"

"Works for me," Tyber agreed. Vitani helped Tyber to his feet, and Timon led the group outside where the crates were. Tyber held up a hand, eyes closed, and remained that way for a full five seconds. Then, one of the boxes opened, and a small hand-held device floated up, then into Tyber's hand. Vitani released his other hand, and held onto him as he opened and activated the Tricorder. He waved it in the air around the crates, and made a concerned hum as the device beeped in rapid tones.

"Well?" Simba asked. "Can you get any info?"

"Indeed," Tyber responded. "And that's the scary part."

"Why? What's scary about it?" Nala inquired. Tyber looked to her with an expression of worry.

"It's the same transporter signature as the transporter I developed – signature is identical," Tyber explained. "What's even scarier, is, it's laced with chronometric particles – which I find-" The Tricorder beeped in those same rapid tones, and Tyber lifted the device up, running it in the space around Nala, then Simba, stopping at him.

"What is it?" Simba queried.

"Sir... you are _covered_ in chronometric particles," Tyber told him.

"What are chronometric particles?" Nala asked.

"They're typically present in areas where temporal anomalies occurred," Tyber answered.

"Temporal anomalies?" Simba repeated.

"... Time travel," clarified the voice of the aged Rafiki, who was now approaching the situation. "Chronometric Particles are a clear indicator of time travel, or some form of temporal event."

"So why am I covered in chronometric particles?" Simba asked in complete confusion. "I haven't been traveling through time; I have no reason to."

"Not in this timeline, no," Tyber suggested, "But, at least a possibility, would be that you are somehow involved in this anomaly, a creation of another timeline."

"How?" Simba asked.

"He's right, Simba," Rafiki stated. "You in this timeline may not have been traveling through time or tampering with the timeline... but you in _another_ timeline may be trying to alter that timeline."

"But why-?" Simba started, stopping on looking back at Tyber from Rafiki. "Can you scan yourself?" Tyber shrugged, scanning himself with his own Tricorder, and frowned at the results.

"So you aren't the only one covered in chronometric particles – I've got them, too," he said. He gave a concerned hum. "This is going into very dangerous territory – tampering with the timeline is a dangerous thing. Even I cannot begin to speculate what may now happen. All I can say is... whatever happened to you and I in whatever timeline is being altered, it must have been very dire for either of us to even _consider_ dabbling in such things."

"In that case, I wonder what happened," Nala commented.

"Why don't we move this stuff inside?" Kovu suggested. Nary a word was said, but Vitani returned Tyber to the table to drink his coffee, then helped the others get Tyber's effects to "his" room. Still, this new revelation of a temporal involvement only worried the family, making them wonder – what was it that Tyber and Simba's alternate-timeline counterparts were trying to prevent? Just what happened that made them dive so deep into the dangerous territory of temporal mechanics?

And what effects will it have on the timeline they are in?

(More will follow.)


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Two weeks rolled by with record speed after Tyber was found bleeding to death in the park. Simba and his family – Vitani especially – found themselves astonished by his rate of recovery. Given the severity of his wounds, they expected him to be out of commission for at least a month. Even so, Tyber had become increasingly... depressed. Withdrawn. Aloof. Vitani speculated that whatever happened to him had begun to take it's toll on him. She wanted to get him to open up, but feared approaching the subject. But, as she suspected, she was the only one he trusted. He hardly spoke to the others. Even Simba was afraid of the lightsaber-wielding man, now on his feet again far sooner than was expected.

It was on the two week anniversary of Tyber's arrival that Vitani got an answer to some of her questions. And that answer sickened her. Ironically, Simba – the king who feared Tyber the most – was the one who broke the silence, during the evening meal.

Tyber absentmindedly nibbled on his food, whereas the rest of the family was already halfway through with theirs. "Tyber," Simba spoke, breaking the deafening silence, "I've been meaning to ask... is there anyone we could get in contact with, let them know you're okay?" This garnered an immediate response, as Tyber's eyes flushed red and he looked slowly up at Simba.

"You want me gone," he hissed.

"No, he just wants to know if there's someone we can talk to, let them know you're alright," Nala clarified.

"And someone who might know what happened to you," Vitani added.

On hearing Vitani's voice, Tyber's eyes flushed blue again, and his gaze sank back down to his food. With a slow shake of his head, he said softly, "No... there isn't anyone. Not for me... Not anymore."

"What do you mean, not any..." Nala began to ask, stopping midsentence as comprehension dawned. "Did... did they disown you?" she asked softly.

Tyber again shook his head. "No... they didn't get the chance. They never got the chance," he said, his tone heavily melancholic.

Vitani put a hand over his. "What happened to them?" she almost whispered to him. Tyber didn't respond, closing his eyes as a single tear fell. He stayed this way for a long while, as though unable to bring himself to answer.

"We won't force you to say anything before you're ready," Kiara assured Tyber.

"But we can't help if we don't know what the problem is," Kovu put in.

 _"_ _Kovu!"_ Nala scolded.

"Trouble is, Nala, he's right," Tyber said. He opened his watering eyes, and they kept shifting from blue to red and back. "The only ones who would have cared that I'm alive were my family," he said, his voice shaking, "And they... they're..."

Simba caught on immediately. "... Dead," he surmised.

Tyber nodded. "Dead... Killed in an explosion. Killed the night I arrived here," he affirmed.

Vitani was shocked. She had an answer to a question that had burned bright ever since Tyber arrived – the question of what happened to him that gave him nightmares and left him in such a severely injured state. But, while some questions were still unanswered, Vitani restrained herself from asking further. It must have been very hard for him to speak about that, especially considering it was still a relatively fresh memory.

"But... if you were transported here from the site of the explosion... how do you know none of your family survived?" Nala asked. Wrong move.

Tyber leapt up from his seat and shouted, _"_ _I saw them die!"_ His voice reverberated around the foyer. _"_ _I was there! I saw that blast with my own eyes! They were all grouped so close to the blast, it would have killed them instantly! Sheer luck I was thrown through the window with the blast!"_

Vitani put herself between Tyber and Nala. She didn't want to hurt Tyber, but she didn't want him to hurt anyone. There was a long, uncomfortable pause, before Tyber finally turned and walked to Vitani's domicile. "What was that?" Kovu asked in astonishment.

"That was Vitani protecting mom from-" Kiara started.

"Not that," Kovu corrected her.

"Agreed," Simba said, staring Nala down. "What were you _thinking_ , Nala? We'd pried enough from him as it was!"

"I just wanted him to consider the possibility that some of his family survived," Nala said defensively.

"But you weren't there," Kovu said.

"Do you want me to feel any worse about this than I already do?!" Nala snapped.

"Enough!" Simba roared. Silence settled over the room. When Simba spoke again, his voice was calm, reassuring, and soft: "Nala, I don't blame you for trying to open his mind up to such a possibility, but we don't yet know enough about Tyber to make any kind of suppositions." His gaze shifted to Vitani. "And I appreciate you getting him to back down; he clearly trusts you, even if he doesn't trust the rest of us. Regardless, I think you and Nala should go apologize to him."

"Agreed," Nala stated. She and Vitani both headed for Vitani's domicile, where they headed for Tyber's room and found him sitting on the bed, forearms resting in his lap, head hung low. He made no gesture he was aware of them. Vitani and Nala slowly approached him, Vitani sitting to his left, Nala to his right. Nary a word was spoken for a good three minutes.

"Tyber, I know what you must be thinking, right now," Vitani told him. "But Simba's not angry. Not at you. If anything, he scolded Nala when you left."

"Simba and I both feel I owe you an apology," Nala added in. "In the Royal Family, we have a rule: Never dig into our members' past unless they are ready to talk about it. The confrontations get... emotional, and for that, I am sorry." Tyber didn't respond – as far as Vitani could tell, he didn't even twitch. Nala was about to get up and leave when he finally spoke,

"I shouldn't have lashed out. Not at you." He paused to sniffle. "Nearly thirty years, and I still can't control my anger – more so now than before."

"Controlled or not, you had every reason to be angry with me – I was digging in something of you I knew nothing about," Nala consoled Tyber.

"It's not an excuse to yell at you like that," Tyber said. "You didn't deserve that."

"What Nala is saying is that we may not condone the way you reacted, but we understand _why_ ," Vitani said. She reached over, picking Tyber's head up to bring it so she could look him in the eyes, which were blue again. "We're not going to ask you of anything else that happened the night you came here – it would seem... wrong of us, somehow, after what happened tonight. But we want to help you, and as Kovu said, we can't help if we don't know what the problem is."

"If you ever want to talk... we are here for you," Nala told him.

"And if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you can always cry on mine," Vitani added. Unexpectedly, she pulled Tyber into a gentle hug, one that Nala joined in on, and for a moment, Vitani could swear he came close to crying.

 **/ \\\\\\\\\**

While Nala and Vitani saw to Tyber, Simba got a call to come to the lab, and he got the impression from the lab head's tone that he discovered something very disturbing. He and Kovu wordlessly marched down there, where they met the lab head.

"Your Majesty," the head greeted Simba, bowing low.

"Good to see you, again, Dia," Kovu commented. "How are the kids?"

"They're fine," Dia said. "Solomon said his first word this morning."

"Touching, but I imagine that's not why you brought us down here. What do you have, Dia?" Simba asked.

Dia sighed heavily. "First thing I wanted to ask – that man that Vitani rescued, has he told you of what happened to him?"

"He said he and his family were caught in an explosion," Kovu replied, "He was the only survivor."

"Well, that fits what we've discovered," Dia stated. He indicated the metal shards and glass shards arrayed on the table. "The glass shards were from a window – you know that. But these..." he indicated the metal shards. "... these are part of why I called you down here. These are military-grade shrapnel shards."

"Shrapnel...? Then..." Kovu began.

"... Someone tried to kill him," Simba concluded.

"Someone with access to military-grade explosives," Dia affirmed. "Such explosives would never be allowed for civilian use, so whoever tried to off your friend must have friends in high places – or knows how to improvise such explosives."

Kovu looked to Simba, asking, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am if you're thinking we may want to have a word with the Human government, try and find this man," Simba agreed. "It might give Tyber some peace if we catch him."

"Maybe, but I don't know if just catching him would be enough for Tyber," Kovu said. "He may want more than that."

"Then we'll hope your sister can stay his wrath," Simba responded. "What I want to know... is _why_ they tried to kill him?"

"That's not the only interesting thing we found," Dia said. "Take a look at _this_ ," Dia lead Simba and Kovu over to a lab station with a microscope. Simba looked through it, and was greeted by the sight of microscopic robots in a blood sample.

"What am I looking at, Dia?" Simba asked.

"That, my king, is the scariest part – I believe what you're looking at is a form of Nanotechnology. Every blood sample from your friend we've seen has thousands of those machines in them," Dia answered. "Those machines have a hundred times the coding of normal organic cells, DNA, you name it. It's the most heavily-coded machine I've ever seen. We think that those things would have kept your friend alive even inches from death; anything that penetrates the body – chemical, biological, technological... anything foreign – is attacked by those things. They were still disassembling the glass shards and shrapnel when we examined them."

"Incredible!" Kovu remarked. "Such a resilience would be-"

"Tyber is a friend, Kovu – not a science project," Simba said sternly, looking up from the microscope. "We will not treat him like a tool."

"I wasn't saying we should," Kovu responded indignantly. "I was just saying, if our Lionesses had resilience like that, they'd be nearly unstoppable."

"If I may, Prince Kovu... King Simba is right; this kind of technology is too volatile to let get out," Dia suggested. "For now, I'd advise we keep this between us."

"I concur," Simba agreed. "I will not have Tyber driven away because someone in the Pridelands thought of him as a weapon or tool instead of a person."

"So what do we do?" Kovu inquired.

"We'll figure that out bit by bit," Simba replied. He began walking out of the lab, and outside, once they were out of earshot of the lab techs, Kovu spoke again.

"You realize what this means," he said.

"Explain," Simba requested.

"Tyber said that his family was killed in an explosion, one he barely survived," Kovu explained. "The lab tech now told us that someone tried to kill Tyber. Compare the notes, and you realize that Tyber's family didn't just die..."

"... They were murdered," Simba finished, drawing the conclusion from Kovu. He remembered how Nala speculated about Tyber having nightmares, and how Vitani suspected he saw someone in them – the "bastard". "Do you think Tyber knows who did it?"

"I imagine that, if he didn't, he wouldn't have nightmares about him," Kovu said.

"Well, we're not gonna ask him now – as I said earlier, we've pried enough from him," Simba maintained.

"Still, if he knows who tried to kill him, why wouldn't he tell us?" Kovu asked.

"Why, indeed," Simba agreed. As they got back into the foyer of the royal family's domicile area, they were greeted by Nala. "Is he alright?" Simba asked.

"I think we got our message across," Nala answered. "But he was just as apologetic as I was."

"Where's Vitani?" Kovu inquired.

"She's still in there with him – something about a hobby he wanted to show her," Nala responded.

"A hobby?" Simba repeated as he crossed his arms. "What hobby?"

"I think he called it 'modding', but I haven't the slightest clue what that is," Nala said.

"How did hobbies come up?" Kovu asked.

"I asked him," Nala responded matter-of-factly. "He said he mods his games, which requires a degree of facility with computer coding and knowledge of how a given game's code works."

"So he can program computers... an interesting hobby," Simba commented.

"Will they be alright alone?" Kovu queried.

"You've seen how he is around Vitani, Kovu," Nala replied. "He could have thrown her aside when he lashed out at me, but he didn't. He wouldn't."

"She has a point, Kovu," Simba agreed. "But regardless, Nala... the situation has become much more complicated."

Nala frowned. "How so?" she inquired.

Simba inhaled, and began to recount what he'd learned in the lab, starting with the discovery that the metal shards pulled from Tyber's chest were military-grade shrapnel, then the discovery of the nano-probes in his blood, then Kovu's realization that Tyber's family had been murdered by the very man that tried to kill him, and culminating with Simba's intention to speak to the human government to try and find the one responsible for the tragedy that had befallen Tyber. When he finished, Nala hefted a sigh.

"So tragic... to lose one's family to a murderer like that," she said.

"So what do we do from here?" Kovu asked.

"We leave him and Vitani alone," Simba said. "He's in good hands with her... and we've put him through enough tonight." With that, Simba, Nala and Kovu all retired for the night.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Tyber lay wide awake in bed. Tonight was especially cold, and even the blanket did not warm him enough. Or perhaps he felt the presence of the Dark Side – he couldn't be sure. He couldn't get it out of his head. He kept remembering his family, the night they died, and the explosion that took them from him. He had long known of the treachery... the lies... how dangerous he was to him...

… it was a tragedy he should have foreseen.

A soft creak alerted him to the presence of another, and he felt whose presence it was through the Force. "I thought you were asleep," he croaked.

"I could say the same of you," Vitani replied. "I could hear you shifting in bed."

Tyber immediately felt a pang of sorrow. "I apologize... I often find it difficult-"

"Don't apologize, Tyber," Vitani interrupted with a soft voice. "You did nothing wrong. Truthfully, I've been having as much luck as you, sleeping tonight."

Tyber shivered – quite heavily – before saying, "I'm just... so cold, tonight... I don't know why."

"I can't say I blame you," Vitani responded. "You don't have fur like we do, so you cannot as easily weather the cold. And tonight, much like the night we met, is only supposed to get colder."

"I..." Tyber paused momentarily as a shiver crawled up his spine. "... hate to ask, but have you an extra blanket?"

Vitani smiled. "In a sense," she said slyly. She walked to the side of the bed, then, in a completely unexpected move, she crawled under the blanket next to Tyber. Tyber was about to yelp, but she quickly silenced him.

"Simba will kill us both if he finds us like this," Tyber warned.

"Why? It's not like we're doing anything," Vitani whispered. "You have no fur, I do. I can keep you warm tonight... until this cold weather passes." Tyber was quiet for a moment.

"That's... surprisingly sweet and selfless of you, Vitani," he whispered. "But will Simba-"

"Let me handle Simba," Vitani cut him off. "He'll understand. You get some sleep." Vitani wrapped her arms around Tyber, pressing her body against his, and breathed on the back of his neck. Gradually, Tyber's shivering slowed, until it ceased entirely, and he was sound asleep. Vitani smiled, chuckling mentally, then closed her eyes and fell asleep herself...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Simba walked into Vitani's domicile when she didn't appear for the morning meal like she usually did. Oddly, she was not in her room, so – on a hunch – he went for Tyber's room, and came across a sight he was not expecting to see.

In Tyber's bed was Tyber, fast asleep – and not twitching and writhing, like he usually did – and right next to him, arms wrapped around him and nose pressed to the back of his neck, was Vitani. Before Simba could speak, her hand reached out, forming a motion to stop. She then retracted that hand, pressing a finger to her lips.

"This is the first time since he arrived that he's slept so soundly," she whispered. Simba took stock of the situation – aside from Tyber and Vitani in the same bed, the situation seemed normal; the air didn't reek of any kind of musk, there weren't scattered clothes, and the only thing that seemed odd was the room was rather cold.

"I take it he was cold?" Simba asked quietly.

"Very," Vitani affirmed. "And not just in the temperature sense; I couldn't leave it be – I had to do something."

Comprehension dawned on Simba gradually. He smiled and chuckled. "That's very sweet of you, Vitani," he complimented.

"I also did it because I know what it's like to sleep cold and alone," Vitani added. "No one deserves that."

"Agreed," Simba said. There was a momentary pause before Simba asked, "Can you take him somewhere in the Pridelands, keep him busy for a few hours?"

Vitani opened an eye and looked back at Simba. "What for?" she asked quietly.

"Kion is coming home today, and not only do I want to welcome him home, I want to break the news about Tyber to him," Simba responded.

Vitani smiled. "I can do that," she responded. It was then that Tyber awoke with a soft gasp and a slight jump – a major relief to Simba, given that, ever since Tyber's arrival, he'd always awakened from a nightmare with a terrified scream. Indeed, this time, the nightmares he typically woke from were not present in this instance.

"Sleep well, Tyber?" Simba asked. Contrary to being startled by Simba's voice, Tyber froze in place, as though he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to, and his eyes flushed purple. Simba chuckled at his tension. "Relax," he told him, "Vitani explained it. Frankly, I think it was a very sweet and selfless act on her part." Tyber relaxed, his eyes turning brown, and he sat up and yawned, then stretched. "Did you sleep well?" Simba repeated his earlier question.

"For a change... _sir_ ," Tyber replied groggily.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Simba asked.

"Old habit, sir," Tyber answered. "My immediate family, except my brothers, were all ex-military."

Simba crossed his arms, an expression of interest on his face. "Your family was ex-military? Hnh... did you have plans to join the military?"

"Never got the chance... and there were, shall I say... unfortunate circumstances that interfered with that," Tyber explained. "Even though I couldn't join the military, I still developed military technologies through the Force."

"I see... well, we can talk about that and your computer coding hobby later," Simba said. "My son, Kion, is coming home today, and I was hoping to have you and Vitani go do something for a few hours so I can break the news of you to him, help him understand the situation."

"So he doesn't make any snap judgments about me," Tyber surmised. "I can appreciate that." Simba smiled, then left the room so the two could dress. He had just walked into the foyer when he stopped on what he saw next. Kion, evidently having arrived ahead of schedule, was talking with Kiara and Kovu when he looked over and spotted Simba.

"Dad!" he greeted. They both shared a hug, and Kion spoke in a tone belying impression, "Three months. Three months I'm away on this assignment, and the first thing I hear when I get back is that Vitani's supposed soulmate arrived while I was gone."

"Easy, Kion," Simba cautioned him. "He's still new here, and there are circumstances behind his arrival that neither you nor us understand – don't judge him until you know the full story."

"When have I ever-" Kion began, stopping midsentence as he looked behind Simba. Simba sighed as he picked up on the tension.

"He just walked behind me, didn't he?" Simba asked.

"Yeah, he did," Kion responded.

"Tyber... this is my son, Kion – Kion, that's Vitani's new... roommate, Tyber," Simba introduced the two. There was a long, silent and uncomfortable pause before Simba heard Tyber say,

 _"_ _Drem Yol Lok_ , your highness."

"Well, at least your respectful, though I don't know why you're armed," Kion responded.

"Where I come from, sir... it's better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it," Tyber said. Tyber then walked past Simba and Kion with Vitani, donning his hood as they headed out of the foyer.

"Vitani's roommate, huh?" Kion asked Simba as soon as the two were out of earshot. "Where's he from?"

"The human homeland," Simba replied. "And even there, he was... unique. Different."

"How so?" Kion inquired.

"If what we've seen of him is any indication, he can use the Force – and has, in fact, used the Force to create technologies that don't exist in his homeland," Kovu told him, "Though even Tyber couldn't explain how he does it."

Kion continued looking at the doorway where Tyber and Vitani had left. "Man doesn't say much, does he?" he commented.

"No... but considering what happened to him, I can't say I blame him," Simba sighed.

Kion turned his head to look at Simba. "Why? What happened to him?" he queried.

"Someone tried to kill him," Simba said. "But we don't know who or why."

"So, how'd he end up here in the Pridelands?" Kion asked.

"We don't know that, either, good prince," responded Rafiki's voice. "All that we know is that it was a temporal event that brought him here."

"A temporal event...?" Kion repeated, evidently surprised.

"Yes, one that both Tyber and I are apparently involved in, though neither of us know how or why," Simba affirmed. Kion looked again to the doorway Tyber and Vitani left through. "Kion..." Simba started sternly.

"Something isn't right about that guy," Kion boldly stated.

 _"_ _Kion!"_ Nala scolded.

"What?" Kion said defensively.

"Kion, he has nowhere else to go!" Nala told him. "And near as we can tell, he's done nothing wrong!"

"But how do we know what his intentions are?" Kion countered. "How do we know what he told you is the truth?"

"Because he has no reason to lie to us – if you had seen the condition he was in when he arrived here... you'd understand," Simba stated. "It wasn't a pretty picture, and there are still elements of his past we do not yet know; remember the family rule."

"Never discuss each other's past unless they're ready to talk about it," Kion said. "But he's not family-"

"But he is, Kion," Kiara said. "He became such when we took him in. What choice did we have? He was broken and bleeding on a bench when we found him. He would have died there if we hadn't done something."

Kion paused momentarily, then nodded his head. "Well, you have a point there – but something seems off about him. And what if whoever tried to kill him comes back to finish the job?"

"That's one thing I was going to bring up with the human ambassador – get into contact with their government, try and find the one responsible for what happened to Tyber, try and catch them before they have that chance," Simba responded. "In the meantime, I'll let you get unpacked. But heed my warning, son – Tyber is unlike anything you've faced before. _Don't_ provoke him; he's easily offended." Simba then left the foyer, and started for the Human Consulate...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

While Simba talked to Kion, Tyber and Vitani were exploring the Pridelands for the first time since Tyber had arrived in the Pridelands. Tyber had not left Pride Rock since he showed up in the Zira Memorial Park – right on Pride Rock's doorstep. He knew very little of the Pridelands apart from what he saw that night in the park. With Vitani playing the part of his guide, Tyber took this opportunity to take stock of the area surrounding his new "home".

"So... what do you think so far?" Vitani asked.

"This place... these... Pridelands... are unlike any place I'd ever seen before," Tyber admitted. "Your people have a greater respect for the environment around them than my own ever did."

Vitani smiled, liking the complement. "Well, thanks," she said. "That means a lot. We try to make this place as beautiful as we can without drastically changing the environment."

"It's a damn sight better than my own homeland," Tyber said. "Somehow, though... this place reminds me of a world I once read about, one that followed similar environmental laws to yours... but I cannot remember what world that was."

Vitani spotted an eatery. "Hey – let's go grab a bite to eat," she suggested. Tyber wordlessly agreed, and they both moved for the eatery. Tyber played the gentleman, pulling out a chair for Vitani at one of the tables. Vitani gladly took the seat. "Playing the gentleman, huh?" she chuckled.

"Should I not?" Tyber said with an evident hint of sarcasm that made Vitani lightly laugh. "No, back home, I didn't ever get the chance to do something like this."

"Like what?" Vitani asked.

"Go out for a day in the city, eat at a place like this with a woman," Tyber clarified. Vitani's smile broadened.

"Thanks," she said.

"What?" Tyber queried.

"You called me a woman, not a girl," Vitani said. "And, admittedly... I'm coming to think of this as our first date." This time, Tyber chuckled.

"We were thinking the same thought. Which reminds me... thank you," he stated.

"For what?" Vitani asked.

"For keeping me warm last night. That's the sweetest thing any woman has ever done for me," Tyber told her. "And that was the first night in a long time I've ever been able to sleep like that." Vitani smiled, looking directly into Tyber's eyes – which had shifted to an emerald green color – with a soft expression of her own.

"No one should ever have to sleep so cold and alone like that, Tyber... I know what that's like," Vitani said softly. Then, remembering something, she added, "And I know this is the last thing you'd want to talk about on our first date... but I know what it's like to lose family. Kovu... until Kovu married Kiara, Kovu was the only family I had left. My father died long ago... my mother and other brother died in the Unification Incident. Like you, until I came to the royal family, I had nothing."

"At least you still have family," Tyber said. "Me... I lost everyone at once. Everyone and everything. Believe me, I wish someone had survived... but I saw it happen. I saw them die. Even if someone survived the initial blast, they would not have survived the fire or being buried in the remnants of what was once my home." Tyber's gaze drifted down to the table as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

 _Just as suspected,_ Vitani thought. He trusted her. He was willing to confide in her, tell her what he refused to tell the others. But why? Just what was it about her that compelled him to trust her? It made her think of something. "Tyber... the night we met, you somehow knew who I am when we'd never met before... if we had, I'd remember you, or your voice."

"Words aren't the only way people meet," Tyber said, his tone melancholic. "Sometimes, it's the paths we walk, the scars we bear... but no, we'd never met before that night."

"So how did you recognize me?" Vitani asked.

Tyber looked at Vitani, his eyes shifting from blue to that emerald green. "I... had a vision. Of you. What we were doing... I'd rather not say."

A vision of her, just as she had of him. "Was this before or after the explosion?" she inquired.

"Just after, when I was lying on that bench waiting for death to claim me... I was dreaming of you. Then your brother woke me prematurely, before the dream could finish. Just as I am easily offended, I can be easily startled... more so now than before," Tyber explained. "Waking me from my dreams like that can be... dangerous."

The talk of dreams made another thought occur to Vitani. "So, if you have nightmares of what happened to you... why didn't you have one when we were sleeping together last night?"

Tyber shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it; but sleeping in your arms like that was... comforting, somehow. Soothing." With a shake of his head, he added, "And I was certain Simba was gonna rip me in half when he found us like that."

Vitani smiled and chuckled. "Let's just say Simba respected my decision and the reasoning behind it," she said. In an effort to change the subject, she commented, "Where's the waiter? I'm hungry."

Tyber laughed softly. "You and me both." It was then that a waiter appeared.

"Apologies for the wait," he said, "We were getting things squared away in the back. What can I get you to drink?"

"How cold are your drinks, sir?" Tyber asked.

The waiter blinked a couple times, apparently unfamiliar with such a formality. "Sir?" he repeated. Looking to Vitani, he said, "I like him very much, Princess Vitani."

Vitani inclined her head. "You haven't answered his question," she told him.

"Oh, right!" the waiter exclaimed. He returned his attention to Tyber. "Our drinks are ice-cold, except for certain beverages that are typically kept warm."

"Do you keep any soft drinks?" Tyber asked.

"Oh, definitely!" the waiter answered. "A human trader supplied us with drinks called 'colas'." Tyber looked interested.

"Is that right...? I think I'll have one of those," he said. The waiter was quick to jot that down, then turned to Vitani.

"And you, madame?"

"Make that two," Vitani said without ever taking her eyes off Tyber. The waiter jotted that down and left to get the drinks, where Tyber smiled broadly.

"A woman after my own heart," he chuckled. "Can't say I expected that from you."

"No?" Vitani asked, a faux expression of surprise on her face. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't rightly know," Tyber said sarcastically with an amused frown. "Just wasn't expecting you to order a cola. Didn't seem like something you'd drink." Vitani laughed.

"So you do have a sense of humor," she stated in confirmation.

"Contrary to popular belief," Tyber agreed. Vitani had to admit, she liked this side of Tyber. She liked seeing him forget his troubles, even if only for a little while. Deciding on playing that, she asked,

"What kind of music do you typically listen to?"

"I listen to rock, primarily – metal, indie..." Tyber began.

"... Rap?" Vitani asked, feeling she already knew the answer.

"Not anymore," Tyber replied, much to Vitani's relief. "Not after it became what it is today. Closest thing to Rap I listen to these days is the work of Linkin Park."

 _Interesting,_ Vitani thought. _Similar tastes in music_. "Imagine Dragons?" she asked.

"I have a few songs from them – latest addition to my music library is the song 'Believer'," Tyber replied. The waiter returned with their drinks. Tyber, on getting his glass, raised it toward Vitani. "To endeavors?"

Vitani smiled, tapping her glass on his. "To endeavors," she agreed. They both proceeded to take a swig. There was a momentary pause as they both placed their order, and when the waiter left to get their orders started, Tyber said,

"Kion isn't gonna trust me. I could feel it in his mind."

"You were reading his mind?" Vitani inquired with a raised eyebrow. Tyber cracked the same facial expression as he responded,

"Invade the mind of another? It is not something done carelessly, or when there is nothing to be gained." He paused, then added, "But I could feel Kion's tension when he saw me. He won't trust me."

"Not right away, no – and only because Kion was not there when you arrived here. Kion has always been... slow to trust outsiders, more so now than before," Vitani said. "Ever since Simba made that trade agreement with the humans."

Tyber frowned. "He doesn't trust humans?" he asked.

"He's not prejudiced against them, if that's what you think," Vitani answered. "He just... doesn't trust them. But that's why, I imagine, Simba had us go do something today – so he could explain the circumstances of your presence here to Kion."

"Yeah, I know – but neither Simba nor I figured on Kion getting here so soon," Tyber stated.

"Kion just needs... time," Vitani told Tyber. "After all, he just met you. He needs time to get to know you."

"And what about you?" Tyber asked. "Don't you need time?"

"Yes, but I didn't just meet you; I've been sharing my domicile with you the last few weeks – I know you better than Kion," Vitani replied. "Now I'm on a date with you, and we're truly enjoying each other's company."

"Well, as dates go, this has been a great one, if I may say so," Tyber chuckled.

"Considering neither of us has ever really been on a real date before," Vitani chuckled back. With a sympathetic smile, she added, "You being Force-Sensitive, I would have thought you'd have your pick of women to date."

Tyber scoffed, almost amusedly. "You'd think being touched by the Force would bring people to me... but the truth is, most people are very intimidated by me and my Force abilities. Especially women. I've seen them... quiver in fear, when I walk by them. They quickly hurry out of my way, as though afraid I'd strangle them for being in my path."

Vitani felt a pang of sorrow. A cruel irony that Tyber's most outstanding quality is what alienated him so much from society. "Well, if it's any consolation, I think you're a great guy, marred by harsh events. I don't see your force abilities as something to fear – in fact, I think it's your most outstanding quality. Most... unique." Tyber looked at Vitani, and Vitani pressed on. "You realize, your Force abilities are a gift – no human from your world has ever had the Force like you do. You can do things even the greatest of them cannot."

"But the Force often proved as much a curse as it was a gift – these powers are dangerous, and no one back home can teach me to control them," Tyber said.

"Maybe not – but as I recall, the dangers of the Force stem from your emotions. We can help you find peace with them. Emotions should not be shunned, Tyber – but you can learn to control them, and that, I think, would help you control the Force," Vitani suggested. "I've only known you a few weeks, but I know you enough to know you're a good person, deep down. Never forget that. Even after what you've been through, you can still be a good person."

"I don't know... last night..." Tyber's voice trailed off momentarily, then returned, "Last night, I fear I may have been feeling the presence of the Dark Side. Could it be that what happened to me... pushed me toward it?" He paused, then continued, "When it all sank in... the death of my family, being the last of my family, and the one responsible for it... all I could feel was anger. Anger and vengeance. Emotions of the Dark Side."

Vitani moved closer to Tyber. "To be angry is to be normal," she said to him. "Your family was taken from you. Even though I suspect they mistreated you, I agree with you in that they did not deserve to die like that. You have every reason to be angry. That does not make you a bad person, nor does it make you a Sith."

Tyber chuckled softly. "I never claimed to be Jedi or Sith. I like to say I walk the borderline between the light and dark sides. Even so, I fear I have been pushed toward the dark side because of what happened that night."

"Even though it's still a fresh memory, Tyber, don't dwell on it – your family wouldn't want that," Vitani said softly. "They would want you to be strong, and keep moving forward."

Tyber heaved a melancholic sigh. With a shake of his head, his eyes shifting blue, he responded, "The last thing I ever said to my family was that I hated them – that they could all die tomorrow, and I would happily dance on their ashes... and yet, the only reason I'm still alive is because they stood between me and that blast."

"Tyber... that wasn't your fault," Vitani told him. "You may have been angry at them, but their blood isn't on your hands. You shouldn't feel so guilty they died."

"No... I didn't kill them, but they still died because of me," Tyber said.

"What do you mean?" Vitani queried.

"A good question... but one for another time," Tyber answered. Looking up at Vitani, his eyes again shifting green, he added, "But I appreciate your sympathy. Even where I'm from, there aren't many with kindness to spare for anyone who isn't kin."

Vitani gently pulled Tyber into a warm hug. "You deserve such sympathy and kindness... even if I'm the only one who gives it," she told him. "While it saddens me that someone has suffered as I have, even though your circumstances are far harsher than mine were, always remember..." She put a hand on his jaw, her thumb wiping away a single tear that had escaped his eye. "... I will always be here for you. If ever you want to talk, you can always turn to me."

He didn't directly acknowledge Vitani, but she saw in his eyes that her words hit home. And in that moment, she realized she was beginning to have an influence on him...


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

When Vitani and Tyber returned to Pride Rock, Simba noticed Tyber walked a little less heavy of step. He could only speculate how their date in the Pridelands had gone, but he suspected she made him feel better – if only a little. But he still needed a lot of work before Simba could confidently say they cured him of what Simba termed as his ailment. A lot of things needed to be done. One such thing was to inform Tyber that the human justice department was working overtime – or so he had been assured – to find his family's killer. However, because there was a severe lack of evidence, finding him would be difficult – the assailant left nothing that would identify him, so Tyber would be the only one who could say who it was. He approached Tyber as he walked into the foyer with Vitani and spoke, "Tyber... I need to speak to you. Alone."

"Sounds ominous," Tyber commented.

"Not quite," Simba said. He motioned his head for Vitani to head to her domicile, and when he and Tyber were alone, he said, "First off... I'm not going to force you to talk about what happened to you. Not until you're ready. That said, I spoke with the human justice department, and they assured me they're working day and night to find your family's killer." Tyber's eyes shifted from green to red, then red to blue. He closed his eyes, heaving a sigh, and walked some way away from Simba before stopping.

"Even if they find out who did it... I doubt they'll be able to catch him. If they were competent in the least, they'd have nailed the bastard before he killed them," Tyber said.

"Understandable you would say that. But at least give them credit for trying to make things right," Simba replied.

"I trusted them to deal with him before. I told them so many times what the man was doing – and they never acted when it could have made a difference," Tyber hissed. "So you can understand if I view them as lazy and incompetent. They cannot be trusted to do what's necessary when it must be done." Without another word, he marched into Vitani's domicile.

"Man's holding a grudge," Kion said, now emerging from hiding in his domicile. "Holding the entirety of his race responsible for the crimes of one."

"Can you blame him?" Simba asked. "After what he's been through, can you really hold it against him?"

"Considering he was nearly killed by this unknown assailant, no – but what's the point of seeking justice for him if he won't give us anything to help us give it to him?" Kion asked.

"That's enough, Kion," Simba said sternly. "It may have escaped your notice that Tyber has a reason not to trust us."

"Then why is he here?" Kion countered.

"Because he has nowhere else to go," Simba stated. "What would you have me do? Throw him out into the streets when he has nothing?"

"No, but I'd rather you not let him keep us in the dark," Kion responded. "You're letting him push you around, and that's gotta stop. You're letting him be-"

"He is merely acting as I would were our positions reversed!" Simba snapped. "And for the record, even though he's unwilling to talk to us on the matter, he did give us some information we can use!"

Kion backed up a bit at his father's sudden anger, but he regardless asked, "And what information is that?"

"Whoever murdered his family is someone he has clashed with before – someone he tried to alert the authorities about, but they did nothing," Simba answered. "You need to seriously tone down with the anti-outsider attitude. Instead of judging him, try to do what the rest of us are doing and get to know him."

It was then that Nala made herself known: "Remember, Kion – if the visions are accurate, Tyber will be Vitani's soulmate. We cannot drive Tyber away; it would be cruel and wrong of us, and not just to him, but to Vitani, as well."

"So where does that leave us? What do we do in this moment?" Kion asked.

"We pass on what we learned from Tyber to the humans, which should narrow their search for Tyber's assailant," Simba said calmly. "As for you, Kion, you need to take a step back and examine the situation from Tyber's perspective. Put yourself in his shoes." Simba then walked past Kion, heading to the domicile he and Nala shared, and Kion spoke to him just shy of the door:

"Why is he so important to you, all of a sudden? Besides being Vitani's potential soulmate, what makes him so valuable to you?"

"Because, as strange as it sounds, he reminds me a lot of myself after your grandfather died," was all Simba said before he entered the doorway, leaving Kion to his thoughts, to really step back and consider his reasons why he was seemingly so against Tyber.

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Tyber had not heard the exchange between Simba and Kion; he had been meditating for some time when he felt a sudden, severe and overt chill strike him, waking him from his meditation. He felt a massive disturbance in the Force, and just briefly before waking, he saw _him_. Now, sensing this sudden disturbance, he felt it was tied to him somehow. He rose from the floor, grabbing both his lightsabers and donning his cloak. Something told him he would not need the rifle. That done, Tyber walked out of his room, and immediately caught Vitani's attention, who was finishing up cooking in the kitchen. "Tyber? Is everything alright?"

Tyber knew better than to lie to Vitani – especially considering how she had risked Simba's wrath just to keep Tyber warm. "There has been a disturbance in the Force," he finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Bad?" Vitani asked.

"I cannot be certain," Tyber answered. "But I feel it's tied to _him_."

"Who, Kion?" Vitani inquired.

Tyber shook his head. "No, not Kion... my enemy. Nemesis. The murderer that tried to kill me."

Vitani's face turned to shock. "Are you certain it's tied him?"

"Again, I cannot say definitively – but I can feel it," Tyber said. Vitani ditched her apron and went into Tyber's room to fetch his assault rifle.

"Wherever you're going, I'm going with you, and that's not up for discussion; no way am I gonna let you face this alone," she told him. A strange rumble crept from Tyber's throat.

"I thought you might," he said. He reached for his back and pulled his hood over his head. "Just keep the rifle safetied unless absolutely necessary." He then marched out of the domicile with Vitani in tow. They walked through the foyer, not a soul was in sight. Not even Kion. They marched out of the foyer and into Pride Rock itself, where the sight of Tyber cloaked in black and Vitani holding his rifle – which was a weapon no one in Pride Rock had ever seen before – caused some concern among some folks. Most simply scurried out of the way. Others muttered and murmured in concern to one an other. This caught Kovu's attention as he was walking into Pride Rock as Tyber and Vitani were walking out of it.

"Something you want to tell me, Vitani?" Kovu asked.

"Tyber is investigating a disturbance in the Force he felt – and he thinks it might be tied to his unknown assailant," Vitani whispered to him.

"Don't you think we should tell Simba?" Kovu suggested.

"Not until we know more," Vitani answered.

"Where's he going?" Kovu asked.

"I don't know," Vitani admitted.

They must have been walking for at least an hour, taking seemingly random twists and turns, when they were stopped by a large band of black-clad armed...

"Hyenas," Kovu hissed, seeing the interlopers. "You realize you're not supposed to be here, right? We are legally within our rights to-"

"Oh, but you're not the target, Prince Kovu," the leader of the bunch said. He pointed a finger at Tyber. _"_ _He is."_

"Assassins..." Kovu growled. "And of what interest is he to you?"

"It's just a job – and a very big payday," the leader said. Looking directly at Tyber, he added, "Jeff sends his regards, and hopes you stay dead, this time."

When Tyber spoke, his voice had a vicious, dark thrum to it that made it so alien to Vitani that she didn't recognize it: "You would be wise to leave this place... while you still have your skin intact!"

"Ooh, the Jedi knows how to play!" one of the hyenas snickered.

"You think I'm intimidated by your threats?" the leader scoffed.

"Enough of this – let's just kill 'im and go home!" another exclaimed, firing a shot at Tyber. But the shot went wide, and hit a wall off to Vitani's right.

"You're going to have to do _much_ better than that," Tyber hissed in that voice. Vitani heard a _click_ as Tyber unclipped something, then a _snap-hiss_ as one of his lightsabers went active.

"What the hell...?" one of the Hyenas gasped.

"He's a Sith! Kill him!" another shouted. They all raised their laser weapons, and began firing at Tyber. But Tyber was deflecting every shot with unimaginable speed, almost twirling his weapon like a baton at a parade. After one last swing that deflected a trio of shots, he reached out, then made an upward pulling motion, and the hyenas' weapons suddenly flew out of their hands. But it didn't end there – Tyber started yelling, then screaming, and finally crying a blood-curdling war cry as he became surrounded by this blood-red aura. He snarled, leaping up and into the hyenas' midst, taking out two as he landed before they could react. The rest drew melee weapons, and tried to fight Tyber off. But trying to fight with Tyber in this state was like trying to grapple with a shadow; Tyber was a blur. Even heavily-outnumbered, he was a sight to see. He landed a gutting slash on one, disarmed another and spin-kicked him into a wall, and dove backward to avoid a decapitating slash from another, catching his fall on his hands, then bringing his feet up to crack the hyena's nose on his right heel, then leapt onto and from a wall, bringing his other foot around to kick the hyena across the face. He cried another war cry, and lunged for one hyena frozen with fear, jabbing his lightsaber in to his gut, then lifting him off his feet, bringing him over his head, and slamming him down on his head, breaking his neck.

Vitani was astonished to see Tyber like this. He was vicious and violent, dispatching the hyenas with absolutely no regard to mercy. With Tyber swinging those crimson blades, Vitani was quickly coming to realize – his anger and rage were far worse than she suspected. Tyber may have been right; whoever murdered his family, whoever tried to kill him may have pushed him toward the dark side. And if this is what Tyber was like pushed toward it, Vitani shuddered to think what he would be like fully consumed by it. He was utterly terrifying. But Vitani was determined – she would work through this. Help him find peace, no matter what.

There was a pause in the battle. Tyber stood ready for attack, and the remaining assassins were arrayed against him. Out of over a dozen hyenas, only six were left. Kovu was shocked; Vitani was just as astonished. Kion, now arriving on the scene, was horrified. This, to him, was proof of his beliefs against Tyber. He was a monster, and should never have been allowed into the Pridelands. _"_ _You should have run when you had the chance!"_ Tyber hissed in that dark voice. He undid his cloak, letting it slide off his back, and his second lightsaber flared, with that same red glow. He went on the attack, and the assassins found it impossible to keep up with him, with his Force-assisted acrobatics and rage-fueled blows; he even ran up one wall, kicked off spinning like a drill bit, and upon landing, both his lightsabers flashed out and decapitated two. The fighting continued until only the leader of the bunch was left standing. And he was absolutely terrified. Tyber, as though to shout to the sky, roared, and from his hands shot what almost looked like arcs of electricity, striking each of the assassins he'd killed, which seemingly disintegrated their bodies, and it all streamed back to Tyber, surrounding him in a purple aura, before it dissipated.

"What... what _are_ you?!" the leader asked hoarsely. Tyber didn't answer, just started advancing on him. The hyena, terrified, backed away, but tripped and fell. Tyber was about to lunge for the kill when a voice cried out,

 _"_ _Tyber, stop!"_

Tyber stopped immediately, looking back at the one who'd spoken, and for the first time since he'd been here, Vitani saw his eyes as bright yellow. "Remember who you are!" she shouted to him. "You aren't a killer! You don't have to do this!" She approached him slowly, arms out to show she was unarmed. "Easy, Tyber... you don't have to do this. Look around you – you've already won. There's no need to kill him. Just let him go." Tyber didn't verbally respond, but the blood-red aura pulsating around him began to slow. Kion frowned slightly on seeing this. Could it really be...? He thought. Vitani pressed her advantage. "You know well the dangers of the dark side; you know well where it ends. Don't let it consume you just when you have met a woman who knows how you feel.

This time, Tyber actually spoke: "The dark side is a tool, much like the light. A dangerous tool, but a tool nonetheless."

"And you've used that tool – don't let it use you. You have every reason to be angry, every reason to be enraged – these men tried to kill you, and you did no more than defend yourself. But this..." Vitani indicated the terrified hyena. "... this isn't you. There's no need to kill him." The aura surrounding Tyber slowed even further, and was starting to fade. It was working, Kion thought, though he was in shock that his family was right on this matter. "Look at him, Tyber – he's beaten. He knows he cannot best you alone if a full squad could not do the same. You and I both know you don't have to kill him. Let him go, Tyber – let the anger go. It has served its purpose. Don't become what you despise." Tyber heaved a shivering sigh, and the aura vanished, his lightsabers deactivated, and his eyes shifted to blue. He toppled over, and Vitani was quick and close enough to catch him as he fell. "Gotcha!" she quietly proclaimed. "I've got you, Tyber..." Kovu was quick to support his sister, getting Tyber's other arm and they both began carrying him back to Pride Rock.

Simba, who had witnessed the whole exchange from a distance, approached Kion from behind. "Do you see it now, Kion?" he asked.

"I believe so, father..." Kion replied. "He's a monster... but one we could help find peace with his inner demons. But to do that, we need to understand what drives them, and how we can help put an end to it all."

"I think it time we paid Mufasa a visit, then," Simba suggested. "Find Rafiki."

 **/**

It took far less time for Kion to find Rafiki than Simba had expected – amazingly, Rafiki had sensed the incident from his perch and was already heading for Pride Rock when Simba sent Kion. Now, the three were descending into the burial crypt that ran beneath Pride Rock, toward the chamber where Mufasa was interred. The three were in agreement – they needed Mufasa's advice on Tyber and how to proceed in the wake of his recent episode.

"Dad... are you sure grandpa will have the information we seek?" Kion asked.

"We're looking for advice, not information," Simba said. "Father has always been good for advice."

"Even so, dad-" Kion began.

"Now's not the time to be getting cold feet," Simba cut him off.

"Listen to your father, Prince Kion – he knows better what young Tyber is going through than you," Rafiki stated. "And we all agreed that we need Mufasa's advice on how to proceed. If Tyber is to assume his place, he first needs to find peace; and Mufasa may have some insight on how we can help him find it." They walked into Mufasa's chamber shortly thereafter, where Rafiki spoke almost to no one in particular: "Oh, old friend... I bring you two who wish to speak to you. They are very worried, as I am, Mufasa." Silence followed this, and for a moment, Kion was unsure Mufasa would show.

 _"_ _Simba,"_ Mufasa's voice finally echoed. _"Kion... it has been long since either of you have entered my crypt. Tell me, what worries you?"_

"Father... we are lost. We took in an outsider, and now..." Simba began.

 _"_ _I know of Tyber. A human, afflicted by a power none before him have ever had, troubled by a harsh past he neither wanted nor deserved... but you would not seek my advice unless something drastic has happened,"_ Mufasa responded.

"He is angry, father – tormented. He-" Simba started. This time, Kion cut him off.

"He killed over a dozen assassins in a fit of rage none of us had ever seen before," he told Mufasa. "What happened to him to inflict such anger and rage?"

 _"_ _My children, there is little I can tell you that you cannot glean yourselves. But you must reserve judgment, Kion – not all is as it seems. Always is there a reason behind such anger – and to understand it, you have to be brave, and venture where so few ever had. Rafiki, old friend... you know where to go. But tread carefully; few who venture into such a tormented man's past emerge from the experience... unscathed,"_ Mufasa explained. _"And always remember – rather like Kovu was, Tyber may be an outsider, but he has the potential to change the Pridelands forever. What change that is will stem from how you proceed. There are benefits, and there are risks. Show the same mercy and forbearance you showed Kovu, Simba, and you and Kion may find yourselves on new frontiers..."_

Mufasa's voice vanished, and Rafiki hummed in concern. "Mufasa is right, Simba... but I was hoping not to have to do it."

"You can get into his mind, can't you?" Kion asked.

"I can – he and I have powers... quite similar to each other. He might say _I_ am touched by the Force in some ways," Rafiki affirmed. "But we must be careful – looking into the mind of another, especially without consent, is a dangerous thing."

"But if it'll help us find justice for Tyber, we have to try," Kion suggested.

"Kion, are you aware of what your suggesting?" Simba asked. "We'd be invading Tyber's mind without his consent just to find out who tried to kill him!"

"Would you do any different for me? If it were me that was nearly killed, would you not go into my mind to determine who did it?" Kion countered.

"That's different!" Simba exclaimed.

"No, dad, it's not! You implied it yourself – Tyber's one of us, now! He may not like it, but we need this information if we are to bring him justice! He has left us with no alternative!" Kion exclaimed back.

"That doesn't mean we should just-"

"Simba," Rafiki interrupted, "Kion has a point. Tyber's one of us. I share the sentiment that he deserves justice, but I agree with Kion that Tyber has left us no choice – sometimes, one has to do the wrong thing for the right reason." Simba paused, trying to think of another solution, but slowly coming to grips with the fact that Rafiki and Kion were right – and they were short on options.

"Fine," Simba finally said. "But I still think it's wrong. We're invading a man's mind without his consent – and if he became aware of it, it may provoke him."

"That's a risk we're going to have to take, Simba," Rafiki responded. They all assumed a meditation position in a triangle, and Rafiki started humming strangely. Simba and Kion kept their eyes closed as Rafiki did this, not sure how he was going to link them to his mind as he ventured into Tyber's. It went on for what seemed hours, until they all saw a bright flash of white light, and then...

 _…_ _found themselves in a somewhat-dirty house. They stood in what Simba assumed to be a Living Room, as there was a stand that had a large, flat screen TV attached to it, an air conditioning unit in the corner with the vent going out the window, a couch with a cover over it, two recliners, and a small nightstand between them. A kitchen and dining room lay near it, and on the counter was a small box that seemingly didn't belong. Outside the windows were the sights of a vibrant countryside – a farm land, if one were to go by the fields they saw. This had to be Tyber's home – so what-_

 _The creaking of wood alerted Simba and Kion to the presence of another. They both turned to see Tyber, staring directly at them with a confused frown on his face. Then, he went to the couch to sit down. He heaved a melancholic sigh, resting his head in his hand. It was then that the front door opened, and what Simba assumed was his mother came in, followed by two brothers, another woman, then a younger woman, then an elderly gentleman._

 _"_ _You better have gotten this house cleaned up," the first woman growled._

 _"_ _I did, mom," Tyber responded._

 _"_ _If you did, then why are you sitting there?" the first brother asked._

 _"_ _Why not check over your work?" the second brother added._

 _What the hell...? Simba thought. His family treated him like a slave! Was that why he didn't trust them? Because of what his own family did to him? The situation got worse by the second, with Tyber's family railing at him for the slightest error in his "cleaning." It was almost as if they were intentionally trying to provoke him. But, unlike his episode earlier, he was doing an admirable job keeping it controlled. But then it hit Simba, as Tyber's family were gathered around the living room, harassing and tormenting him – a sudden, cold shiver in his spine. Tyber evidently felt it, too – he visibly shuddered. He cast a look out the window next to him, and Simba and Kion looked as well, and saw someone who was not there before – a husky man with a beard and glasses, holding..._

 _Simba's heart stopped cold when he saw what the man was holding – a detonator. Tyber, Kion and Simba all looked to the kitchen, where that small box gave off a slight DEET!_

The explosion in the memory knocked Simba, Rafiki and Kion out of the trance and onto their backs. When they recovered, they were left with one question: They now knew the face of Tyber's assailant, and from what the hyenas had said, they had a name, Jeff – but why did Jeff try to kill him?


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Simba, Kion and Rafiki all returned to the Royal Family's foyer to the sight of Vitani, sitting next to Tyber at the table, holding and comforting him, with Nala standing behind them, trying to do the same for Tyber. She looked over and saw Simba, then walked over to him. "What happened?" Simba asked.

"I don't know – he wouldn't say. Just that it felt like a violation of his mind," Nala responded. "Vitani thinks someone invaded his mind and forced him to relive the night his family was killed." Simba was immediately worried. He and Kion now were going to have to very delicately explain to Tyber that they were the ones who invaded his mind, even though they were trying to help. Simba shot Kion a warning glance: _Stay out of this._

Simba approached Tyber and sat next to him, on the side opposite to Vitani. "Tyber, I know what you must be going through, right now."

"Simba," Vitani said, her voice quivering, "Leave him alone."

"I have to do this," Simba insisted. "He has to know I'm on his side."

"... all because of me," Tyber sobbed. "They died because of me."

"They didn't die because of you, Tyber," Vitani said softly. "Stop blaming yourself for their deaths."

"I had long known of his treachery... his lies... what kind of corrupt man he was... it was a tragedy I should have foreseen," Tyber whispered.

"That doesn't make it your fault, Tyber," Simba said. "Their blood is not on your hands. They're on _his_."

Tyber scoffed among his sobbing. "You don't even know who he is," he said hoarsely.

"Perhaps not," Simba said, playing for diplomacy among family, "But Vitani's right: Don't blame yourself for what you didn't do." Before Simba even knew he was there, Kion spoke:

"Unless you planted that bomb, don't take blame that's not due, and don't blame yourself for how your own family treated you." Kion's words struck a chord in Tyber, as his crying stopped, and his head slowly rose to glare at Kion, and contrary to being the blue that Simba had come to associate with sadness, they were bright red – and Simba knew what that meant.

He was _pissed_. "What... did you say...?" he hissed, slowly rising to his feet. Simba had to act fast to diffuse the situation.

"Tyber, we are on your side, we didn't want to do this to you-" Simba began.

"What happened between you and Jeff?" Kion asked. A long, uncomfortable pause followed this. "This is just between us, I promise," Kion added. A dark, draconic thrum crept from Tyber's throat, and Simba realized things were rapidly getting out of hand. Simba put a hand on Tyber's shoulder reassuringly, but Tyber immediately grabbed it and twisted it, bringing Simba to one knee in an instant with strength Simba didn't even realize he had. He advanced quickly on Kion, who tried to back away, but Tyber was faster, as he seized him by the throat and hefted him off his feet.

 _"_ _HOW DARE YOU INVADE MY MIND! HOW DARE YOU FORCE THAT MEMORY ON ME! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU CLAIM, FORCING YOURSELF INTO WHAT DOSN'T BELONG TO YOU?!"_

"We... were just... trying to... help..." Kion gurgled out.

"Tyber!" Vitani shouted, "Release him!" But Tyber refused.

 _"_ _YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INVADE MY MIND! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO FORCE YOUR WILL ON ME! I ENDURED THAT ONCE, I WILL NOT ENDURE IT AGAIN!"_ he screamed. Vitani tried to grab Tyber's wrist, tried to break his grip on Kion's throat, but the second she tried, he dropped Kion, pulled a pistol that she had no idea he had on him, and held it at her head. His grip did not shake. His eyes bear a look of sheer rage. One wrong move, and she'd lose more than the man of her dreams. But that's not how she saw it. He was in pain, terrible pain. Like the night she met him, he was hurt, confused, and didn't know who to trust.

"Would you really shoot me?" she asked, already knowing the answer. But his grip didn't falter. This was much worse than before. "After all this, would you really kill a woman trying to help you? A woman who knows what it's like to be you?" Tyber made no sound other than that of his heavy, angry breathing. His eyes even began to show brief glints of yellow. "If it makes you feel any better, shoot me, but do so with the knowledge that neither Simba nor Kion were trying to hurt you. None of us are trying to hurt you, we never were – yet you treat us as though we keep you prisoner here. If leaving is what you want, then leave. If you want to shoot us, shoot us – but know that we only wanted to help you. We just didn't know how. I don't condone in the slightest what Kion and Simba did, but I can sympathize with why they did it." Tyber still wouldn't lower the weapon, and when Nala moved to support her, one of Tyber's lightsabers flared and he pointed it at her. She stopped just inches from the blade's tip, hands up slightly to show she was no threat. "Enough, Tyber," Vitani said calmly, still trying to diffuse him. "We all get it – you're angry. And you have every right to be. But you know better than any of us the dangers of anger and rage. You know where that road goes. You know exactly where it ends. And you and I both know that's not what you want. You're not a Sith. You're not a killer. You never were. Don't be the very thing that murdered your family. That's not what they'd want. That's not what you want, and that sure as hell is not what I want." Tyber's face contorted, and he pressed the pistol against Vitani's forehead, but nothing happened. Just as it seemed Vitani succeeded in talking him down, he extinguished the blade and dropped it at Nala's feet. At the same time, he hit a button on the pistol's grip, and the magazine was ejected and he forcefully threw the weapon down at Vitani's feet.

"Never. Again," was the only thing he said before he stormed away, walking out of the foyer and heading for the exit out to the Pridelands. No one stood in his way. Kion got up and coughed, rubbing his throat.

"I think we could have handled that a bit better," he commented. But this did not have the desired effect on Vitani. She immediately advanced on Kion and sent a punch across his face. Kovu had to intercede, grabbing his sister and pulling her away from Kion before she could continue her assault. Kion spun once before landing again on the floor, this time shouting, "Damn it!"

 _"_ _Why the FUCK did you invade his mind like that?!"_ Vitani screamed, coming to tears. _"_ _What gave you the right to put him through that?!"_

"Vitani, we were just trying to help-" Simba started. But Vitani, much like Tyber only moments earlier, wasn't having it, slapping Simba across the face before breaking free of Kovu's grasp and running to her room sobbing. Kion again got up off the floor, fully expecting someone else to hit him. But no one ever did. No words were said. Not a sound was made. It was on everyone's faces, and Kion knew:

 _He screwed up._

Vitani, heartbroken, angry, and hurt, sobbed hard in her bed. One chance. One chance was all she had to get to him. All she had to help him realize he was not alone. One shot to have what Kovu and Kiara had, and now that chance was gone. It never occurred to her that Tyber wasn't leaving, that he had nowhere else to go. All she could think of was how he held a gun to her head like she were his enemy – after the dreams he had of her, as she had of him. All she could think of was that he no longer trusted them. That he was alone in hostile territory. He didn't deserve that. He deserved better, after what he'd been through. He and she both did. And now, she felt as though that chance had been taken from them. She had no idea how long she'd been crying in bed when a soft creak signaled the presence of another.

"Vitani, I know how you must feel," Kiara said.

"I wanted to help him," Vitani said. "Wanted to show him he wasn't alone. Now I feel like he does – betrayed by those I thought I could trust."

"Fair to say," Kiara agreed. "But we still have to make this right."

"Make it right, do it wrong... what does it matter?" Vitani asked, her voice still shaking from her lamentation. "He's gone. He won't trust us now."

"All the more reason to find him," Kiara assured her. "We're reasonably certain he hasn't left the Pridelands. Dad has deployed everyone he could muster to look for him."

Vitani looked back at Kiara, this time. "And Kion?"

"Mom is keeping him confined to his domicile; he won't interfere this time," Kiara responded. Vitani turned her head back to where it was.

"How do you know he hasn't left the Pridelands?" she asked.

"Think about it, Vitani – where would he go? He has no home, no family. No one that would care for him. Like it or not, we're all he has at this point, and I'm betting he knows that," Kiara explained.

"It's a big gamble," Vitani said. "Is it really still worth it? After what we did to him?"

"How can it not be worth it?" Kiara countered. "How can it not be worth making better the life of a man who had everything taken from him? And after what we did to him, it makes it even more worth it in that we have to make this right."

Vitani found herself rising from her bed. In her heart, she realized Kiara was right; they did this to him. They hurt him. They had to make it right. To repair the damage they did. She still had time. "Has anyone seen him?" she inquired.

"Not yet, but-" Kiara started. She was cut off when Zazu came into the room.

"Princess Vitani... we have news of Tyber," he said. From his tone, Vitani immediately feared the worst.

"Is he okay?" Kiara asked before Vitani could.

"He is unharmed, but beyond that, we do not know; he's been sighted in the park... at last report, he was just sitting on the bench he was on when you first met him," Zazu replied. "Simba wants you along with him when he goes to speak with him. Nala is keeping Kion in his domicile, and Kovu also will be coming along." Vitani didn't even need to be told once. She immediately went to Tyber's room, grabbed his black cloak, and met with Simba and Kovu in the foyer, and they wordlessly headed for the park, following the invisible path that Vitani had followed in blood when she first met Tyber. And now, as then, it was especially cold. And just as Zazu had said, Tyber sat alone on the bench – the same bench Vitani first found him on when they met. She, Simba and Kovu all slowly approached Tyber, not wanting to provoke him any more than he already had been. He made no move. No sound. He never even lifted his head or opened his eyes. Vitani was the first to sit next to him. Kovu sat next to her, and Simba sat on the opposite side. No words were said. Nary a sound was made. Vitani silently draped the cloak over Tyber's back and shoulders, and he didn't stop her when she secured it. They were all silent for a good two minutes.

"I'm so sorry, Tyber," Vitani finally said. "I never wanted to put you through any of this." Tyber sighed, softly and tremblingly.

"I am, too," Simba put in. "I never should have gone along with Kion's plan. He's bold, but sometimes, he does things without thinking. He's still got a lot to learn." Simba shook his head, leaning on his knees with his elbows. "I fully realize there's nothing I can say to make you believe us... all I ask is you give us a chance to make this right."

"Believe you?" Tyber said softly. He was quiet after that, before speaking again: "What is left to believe, when you are betrayed by your own? When all that you are, all that you have done, is buried beneath the lies and deceit of corrupt men?" Simba was confused, but then, he realized it wasn't _him_ he was referring to – it was the one he'd seen in Tyber's memory, holding the detonator. It was Jeff. But Simba refused to push. Not now. Not here.

"It was still wrong of us to invade your mind like that, and for that, I am sorry," Simba apologized. "It was never my intent to cause you harm, though I suspect you've heard that before."

"You aren't wrong," Tyber said.

"What Simba is trying to say is that we're all sorry for what happened," Vitani told Tyber. "We only ever wanted to help you – but if we are to help you, you have to lower your guard one last time, let us show you we are not your enemy."

"We all fully realize you've heard this before, that you have done this before. Humans did a lot to you that you never forgave nor forgot," Simba assured him. "If nothing else, please trust us in that we are not human, and recognize that even we can make mistakes."

"Amazing the concern you display for me, considering I held a gun to one of you and threatened another with a lightsaber," Tyber said, his voice shaking.

"Your mind had been violated, invaded without your consent," Kovu told him. "You were well within your right to be angry with us. As extreme as it is, you had every reason to be like that. I would be no different had it been my mind that had been violated like that."

"What happened to Kion?" Tyber asked.

"I had to restrain my sister from beating Kion senseless after you left," Kovu chuckled. "She really cares for you, Tyber. She broke down in tears after she smacked Kion."

"You mean so much to me, Tyber, and I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you," Vitani said softly to Tyber. "I don't want to lose you. Not ever."

"None of us do," Simba stated. "We don't want you to suffer any more than you already have; Come home with us. Let us show you what a real family looks like."

"But I'm not-" Tyber started.

"But you are, is what I'm saying," Simba interrupted. "You're one of us, now. Have been ever since Vitani found you on this very bench. And in our family, we take care of our own – even if that means going on a statewide manhunt trying to find one of us just to tell them we're sorry for how we hurt them." Tyber heaved a heavier, trembling sigh.

Vitani gently stroked Tyber's cheek. "Come home with us... with me. Let me keep you warm. Let me keep you safe. Let me show you you're not alone." She then leaned over and planted a gentle, tender kiss on his cheek. This seemed to flip a switch, and Tyber lightly chuckled.

"I guess I had forgotten what it means to have a family," he said.

"It'll become familiar to you again, Tyber," Vitani assured him. Tyber slowly rose from the bench, followed by Vitani, then Kovu, and finally Simba. Without a word, they all started the journey back to Pride Rock...


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Nary a word was said when Tyber walked back into Pride Rock. Nala never made a sound when he and Vitani walked into the foyer, where he immediately went into Vitani's domicile, pausing only to collect the weapons he'd dropped. As Simba wearily went into Kion's domicile, Vitani guided Tyber to her bed, letting him lay down to sleep. She laid down next to him, and like the other night, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body to his and her nose against his neck. She even put a tender kiss there. Not a word was said. This incident had been a close one, and she nearly lost Tyber. But, though Vitani loathed to admit it, she had the name of Tyber's assailant and now, because of Simba and Kion's foray into Tyber's memory, a face to go with the name – now all they needed was who he was to Tyber and the motive of the crime.

Vitani traced a finger along some of the scars on his chest. How cruel fate had been to him, she thought. From what Simba told her of what he saw in his memories as they walked out to find him, his own family treated him like a slave. But, she imagined, they weren't always like that. If they were, perhaps Tyber would not feel so sad they'd been murdered. No, he still felt for them, loved them as family, even if they no longer viewed him as such. Then Jeff came along, and took everything from him. His home, his family, and it would have been his life had Tyber's temporal friend not transported him to the Pridelands where Vitani found him. Arguably cruel that he be forced to endure all that. Just what did he possibly have to gain from it? But she already knew the answer: He gained _her_. She understood how he felt, what it meant. She was the one most ardent over helping him overcome this darkness. She was the one who cared about him the most, who was most hurt when he nearly left them. Sure, Kovu understood him, as well, but Vitani had an advantage Kovu didn't – Vitani was a _woman_ , something Kovu could never be. Vitani couldn't help feel warm, seeing Tyber sleep the way he was. She frowned slightly, having another thought come to her. On a hunch, she released him from her grasp and slid away from him to some degree. He showed no change, but just as Vitani thought there wouldn't be one, he twitched. Then again, and again, and the muttering started, though Vitani couldn't tell what he was saying. So she slid back behind him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body to his. Almost immediately, he began to settle down, until the twitching stopped and he fell silent. There it was – proof. Of what he had said, of what she had suspected – she had a powerful influence on him. Her very touch was soothing to him. It was a surprising discovery, but a welcome one. She smiled at how she had such a positive effect on him. Perhaps, in time, she could eliminate his nightmares. Perhaps she could open his heart, open him up to...

Vitani stopped herself cold. Was she seriously thinking that? She only knew him for a matter of weeks – a month, tops! But then... would it really be so bad...? She found she enjoyed the thought. Her and him... it seemed like a wonderful thought. She'd never had a boyfriend before. One would think that being a princess of the royal family through her brother would afford her her choice of mates... but like Tyber, others were often intimidated by Vitani. She chuckled mentally at the thought; she had more in common with him than she initially thought. Between thinking about how much the two of them had in common and her thoughts about the two of them in any sort of committed relationship... it was all she could think about, she found as she drifted off to sleep.

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

The morning after the incident went on as usual, but everyone gave Tyber and Vitani a wide berth. They'd both been through a lot last night. Tyber and Vitani silently grabbed their breakfast, Tyber pausing to get his morning coffee, and they sat down at the table wordlessly. Even though Simba could tell Tyber had something he wanted to get off his chest, Simba outright refused to push. After last night, he felt it would have seemed wrong. But, as they all dug in, Tyber just stared at his food, and after he sipped his coffee, made it clear that Simba didn't need to push:

"He was my ex-stepfather."

Simba had been sipping on his own morning tea when Tyber spoke. He lowered the mug and asked, "Who?"

Tyber looked up at Simba. "But you know who. You, Rafiki and Kion saw him just as I did. The man holding the detonator that ended my family's life." Simba frowned slightly, coming to realize what Tyber was saying. But he didn't want another incident.

"Tyber, what are you doing?" he asked.

Tyber's eyes shifted to a grey color. "Lowering my guard," he replied. Simba looked to Kion, fully expecting him to press in, but to Simba's surprise, he didn't – instead, he just stared at Tyber, waiting for him to say something else. "My ex-stepfather was the one who murdered my family, who tried to kill me."

"But why?" Nala asked. "Why is he trying so hard to kill you?"

Tyber's hand balled into a fist, but he released it before Vitani could place her own over it. "Because it was no longer enough to keep me contained," Tyber said through clenched teeth, tears welling in his eyes and his eyes themselves shifting red, then blue, then back to grey again. As much as Simba didn't want to cause Tyber any more pain, he realized he wasn't forcing this out of him – this was Tyber's choice, and come hell or high water, he was gonna tell this story one last time. "I never thought it of the man, first time I laid eyes on him," Tyber continued. "Just thought he was another dad. For a time, he was. But then... he changed. They all did."

"What changed?" Kiara asked.

"He became cold, severe – he belittled mom, granddad, and my brothers for what he perceived as our flaws, from the smallest to the largest, and argued, sometimes violently, with us. I got the worst of it..." Tyber explained. He paused to sniffle, wiping a tear away. "The other kids I grew up with – at school, in the neighborhood... they were no different. Always hating and harassing me because I was different, as though that brands me a heretic or outcast. They all made it seem to me that my crime... was that I existed. So, you can understand, I became angry. Most of my childhood was spent in loneliness and despair. I wanted them to suffer... I hated them..."

"That's terrible," Kiara said, moving to Tyber's side, opposite of Vitani.

"And that's an understatement," Tyber said, his voice beginning to shake. "They hated me for being different. My ex-stepfather? He accentuated it, made it worse. He took advantage of my anger problems at the time, made me out to be what I'm not – and worse, he tricked me into believing it."

"So why was he trying to keep you contained?" Simba asked.

"Because he began to beat me, smack me around – while mom was away at her job, he'd torment me any chance he got, for his own sick amusement. I tried to tell the 'authorities', but they. Did. _Nothing_ ," Tyber all but hissed that last word. "But it was because I was fighting back that he began to spin lies about me, to use the laws of my own people to keep me contained to my mother, wherever she went – and then he staged an incident he would be caught in, to give him a reason to divorce her. But he never really left me alone after that – he continued to torment me, though her. She believed his lies about me being mentally-unstable, psychotic, even... and she did everything she could to preserve that image. Then she learned how she could make money off me in that state..."

"That's cruel," Kovu commented. "Even my own mother wasn't that senseless."

"When did the Force manifest in you?" Nala queried.

"Three years before the night everyone died," Tyber answered. "I don't know how or why it happened, nor why it took so long to do so... and I discovered it entirely by accident. But ever since, I've used it to... create things, with my mind. I just... think of it, of how it functions, and there it is, in my hands. I saw it as a way to possibly break free. So for three years, I worked tirelessly to gather what I needed to just walk out the door and never come back... but Jeff struck first."

"That still doesn't explain why he tried to kill you," Nala protested. "Why would he-" She stopped midsentence, comprehension dawning. "If you got loose with the memories you held of what he did to you... if others learned of it, if someone somehow found evidence of what he did to you..."

"... it would have destroyed him. His entire web of treachery and deceit would be completely undone, and he would be forced to answer for his crimes," Simba concluded solemnly.

" _That's_ why you blame yourself for their deaths!" Nala surmised. Tyber nodded slowly.

"They died because I knew something he didn't want getting out," he said. "And now... I'm more dangerous to him than I ever was before, because I'm the only one who can put him at the scene of that crime. If he kills me, he kills all evidence that ties him to it."

"Then he'll come for you," Vitani deduced. She gently gripped his hand, driven more by her determination and care for him. "Why wouldn't you tell us?"

"Because it wasn't your burden to bear," Tyber said softly. "I never wanted to drag any of you into this. This is _my_ fight."

"It may have been _your_ fight, but _we_ are just as dangerous to him, now that we know what he did. We could all testify to what he did to you. I still have the medical report from the night we met you, the lab report of the shrapnel and glass pulled from your body..." Simba paused for effect. "This may have been your fight... but when we took you in, it became _our_ fight. And it's a fight that I intend to see finished." Tyber chuckled through his evident lamentation.

"You sound like Thel," he remarked.

"Who?" Simba asked.

"Thel – Thel 'Vadam. A Sangheili that I deeply respected... but he is a tale for another time," Tyber replied. Simba paused for a moment, the rose from his chair and approached Tyber. Putting his hands on his shoulders, he told him,

"I fully recognize this was a lot for you to unload all at once, Tyber. After last night, I didn't want you to speak any more about your past, least of all to me. What Kion and I did to you was wrong, and we never should have done it. And you have my deepest sympathies for what happened to you – both in regards to what we did, and what _he_ did; in either case, I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear this from, but I've been where you are... and I know how deep it hurts."

"Thank the Force for that... because you and yours are the closest thing to family I have left," Tyber said. "And I felt, at this point, you deserved to know. If..." Tyber paused to wipe away tears. "If I don't make it... don't let happen to others, what happened to me."

"We won't," Vitani assured him. "And you'll make it. I promise."

"Listen to her, Tyber," Kovu suggested. "My sister won't let any harm come to you. She's a fighter – just like you."

"And as we said last night, we had to restrain her from beating Kion senseless last night. A woman wouldn't do that to her own family unless she deeply cared about you," Simba stated. "Never forget that. Always remember, above all else, you have her. She's kind, fierce and loyal; welcome traits even among your kind."

"Not to mention gentle and selfless..." Tyber muttered.

"Even more reason, then," Simba chuckled. "Point is, Tyber... always remember what you have. And you have a chance to make a new life for yourself, here in the Pridelands. Don't cast that aside." Much to even Simba's surprise, Vitani took both Tyber's hands and turned him to face her.

"I'll always be here for you, Tyber – I have been ever since we met. You know you can always turn to me, whether you need to get something off your chest, or just need a shoulder to cry on," she told him.

"I know," Tyber responded. "You have been the kindest woman I've ever met. You don't quiver in fear at the sight of me – none of you do – you don't judge me, you don't intentionally make a target of me... and I'm so sorry for last night. I completely-"

"Tyber, what happened last night was a reaction to something that never should have been done – you had every reason to be angry. Regardless, what's done is done," Vitani told him. "Let it go, Tyber – you've held onto all this long enough. You've shouldered this burden too long; let it go."

"It's not that easy, Vitani," Simba cautioned her. "But I think it'll be easier for him if we catch his ex-stepfather, make him answer for his crimes, before we help him to let this go."

Finally, Kion spoke: "One thing I still don't understand – how did you get here after the explosion? We were forced out of your memories before we could see how you got out of there."

"Admittedly, I know no more than you; all I can tell you was that it was a temporal event," Tyber told him. "Someone from another timeline with access to my technology brought me here, but none of us knows who or why, least of all me." Tyber looked over to Kion. "Believe me, I would love to know who saved me. I would love to why. But no clear answer on that point was ever given. And I fear none ever will. We may never know who it was that saved me by putting me in Vitani's path that night she and I met." He returned his gaze to her. "But I'm thankful they did – until you, I had never met any woman who had as much in common with me as you do, let alone with the courage to talk me down when I'm at my worst." This time, it was Tyber that made the unexpected move, putting a hand on her cheek. "One would think a woman like you would have her pick – yet out of all those you could have chosen, you chose me."

Vitani leaned into his hand briefly. "Like you, most others are normally very intimidated by me; and I didn't think you'd take any interest in me, being that I'm a feline." Tyber smiled and chuckled.

"Haven't you noticed?" he asked jestingly. "I have a thing for felines." He and Vitani shared a light laugh before he said, "Feline or otherwise, I care about _who_ you are, not what you are."

"Aw," Kiara commented, "Now that is so sweet!"

"He's a keeper, Vitani," Kovu snickered, earning him a scold from Kiara. But Simba, having already seen them together in more ways than one, smiled.

"I think I'll just leave you two alone," he said. "I need to get to the Human consulate and get in touch with the human government to give them the evidence they need to catch Jeff." Simba left as Tyber and Vitani shared a warm embrace. He had to admit, as odd as it was, he liked the idea of the two of them together. Only time would tell if it would actually happen...


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

It took Simba three hours to conclude his affairs at the human consulate; they were shocked, to say the least; as Tyber had said, they knew of his prior clashes with Jeff, but they had no idea just how bad it had gotten, let alone that he was the culprit behind Tyber's family's murders. With Simba and Kion's testimony to what they saw in Tyber's memory and Simba sending over the lab and medical reports from Tyber's injuries, excluding the information on the nanites in Tyber's blood, plus what the human investigators found at the scene of the crime, they felt they had more than enough evidence, and promised to deploy the Marshals, the FBI, and anyone else they could muster to track down and arrest Jeff. Simba left it in their hands, dealt with a few other matters, and then made the trip to return to Pride Rock. The others had pursued their typical activities, but it almost seemed as though Tyber had vanished. Simba approached Vitani, who was reading a book with an odd symbol that Simba hadn't seen before.

"Did Tyber want to be alone?" he asked her.

Vitani looked up from her book. "Not really, but there wasn't much I could do to help him in there – see for yourself," she said, hitching a thumb over her shoulder to indicate an unused room next to her Domicile. Simba frowned. What could he be doing in there? There wasn't supposed to be anything in there; Simba had planned to use it for storage, but Nala felt they had no need of such. Simba approached the room, and heard metallic clicking and clacking in the room, and when he went inside, he was immediately greeted by the sight of racks of weapons, many of which he had never seen before. "What's all this?" he asked.

"A collection," Tyber respond. "Every weapon I had ever created with my mind, from pistols to assault rifles and everything else in between." Simba took stock of what he saw – and Tyber had quite the collection. Many of these weapons were clearly energy weapons, or had such a weapon integrated into a weapon's frame.

"This is quite a collection," Simba remarked. He looked to Tyber. "What did you need all these weapons for? Were you preparing for war?"

"In a sense," Tyber said. "But these weapons here..." he indicated his collection. "... they're not just for me. They're for _you_ , as well. You and your family. I lost my family once... it shall not happen twice."

"Speaking of," Simba said matter-of-factly, "The humans have promised to deploy everyone they can muster to track down and arrest your ex-stepfather." He paused to shake his head. "A sick and cruel thing for him to do, putting you through that. But one thing still gets me; you said that no one believed you when you first told them – that the authorities refused to act when it could have made a difference. I would have figured that it would have been the same after you left. How did Jeff think you a threat like that? The last thing he would want is the authorities snooping around in his affairs, and if anything, I thought he'd have figured the dangers on the streets would kill you for him. There was no real reason for him to kill you."

Tyber shrugged. "I wish I knew," he said. He placed the weapon he was holding on a rack. "The night before the explosion, however... there was a surge in the Dark Side, which resulted in a dark shift in the Force. That's why I was so weary in that memory of mine you saw."

Simba had a thought, though it scared him to think of it. "Could... could a Sith be involved in this?" he asked. Again, Tyber shrugged.

"If there is, I can't imagine who it could be – I never had any enemies among the Sith. I had thought I was the first of my world to ever develop a connection to the Force," he stated. "... unless the Sith came from here, in which case, I still can't imagine who it could be. Not a lot of people here really know me, and none as far as I know have reason to want me dead, and as far as I can sense, there haven't yet been any force-sensitives here, so I can't imagine who could have become a Sith here."

"Hnh... so we'll have to play it by ear from here," Simba surmised. He looked about the collection of weapons in the room. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Again, I lost my family once; it shall not happen twice," Tyber said. "If it means you'll be protected or prepared when disaster comes screaming in... I would let you use anything I had created with my mind."

Simba put hands on Tyber's shoulders. "I appreciate this, Tyber. Let's just hope we never have to use them."

"You know my mantra - it's better to have something and not need it..." Tyber started.

"... than to need it and not have it," Simba finished with a smile. He chuckled. "Seems were picking a few things up from you."

"Better be careful, then," Tyber jested. "I have a few bad habits." Simba laughed.

"You aren't the only one," he told him. He slapped his arm lightly. "Come on – it's lunchtime."

"Yes, and your wife said she was gonna cook a stew or something," Tyber said. "I can smell it from here."

"Yeah, she's fond of them," Simba said. The two of them walked out of what would now be considered the armory, and into the foyer.

"Did you show him Charric?" Vitani asked Tyber. Tyber paused, then sighed.

"I forgot about that," he said.

"What's a Charric?" Simba asked.

"Very powerful disruptor rifle," Tyber responded.

"Like the disruptor in your AR197? The one you nearly disintegrated your face with on day one here?" Simba jested.

"Even deadlier than that; my version uses Kapoleron Maser pulses that rip through energy shields like paper and can pierce even the strongest armor," Tyber explained. "I only had bits and pieces of information on it, but what little I had indicates it originates from the Unknown Regions. It..." Tyber caught himself. "... It's a long story."

"And you were going to give me one?" Simba surmised.

"It was a toss-up between that and a Mandalorian Assault Rifle," Tyber said with a shrug as he sat down next to Vitani.

"Well, we've got at least another half-hour before this is done, so humor us," Nala requested.

"Oh, no, no-no – I get started on the history of the weapons in my collection, I'll be jaw-jacking till the end of the day," Tyber responded. "Suffice to say, they all have various origins and histories, some more extensive than others."

"I don't know – Charric sounds more impressive than the Mandalorian Assault Rifle," Simba said.

"Yet the Mandalorian Assault Rifle has a reputation for being overpowered for it's size – something Republic troops found out the hard way during—Dammit, stop that!" Tyber exclaimed with a laugh that Simba wasn't expecting. He still laughed along with him as Vitani did.

"Simba, please don't push – it's a more pleasant topic than his past, but if he doesn't want to talk about it, don't push," Vitani requested.

"Okay," Simba responded, still chuckling. Then, he had another thought. "While I have you here, Tyber... do you think that, perhaps... the Pridelands Defense Forces could use the weapons you develop?" Given the reaction Tyber gave, Simba guessed the thought had not occurred to him. He curled his lips and his face scrunched slightly in thought. He moved his head from one side to the next, thinking it over. The Pridelands would be better defended with the weapons Tyber developed, and it was possible that Tyber could develop other technologies for them, as well.

"It certainly is possible," he finally said. "Is there some threat we're on the lookout for?"

"None on the radar at present, but as you are so fond of saying, it's better to have something and not need it..." Simba began.

"... Than to need it and not have it. Very well," Tyber said. "I can get together some weapons – I certainly have no shortage of them. Where should I put or send them?"

"We'll work that out later," Simba answered. "What kinds of weapons can you spare?"

Tyber hitched a thumb over his shoulder to point at the armory. "You saw my collection – I can create weapons that don't normally exist, and they will remain on this plane indefinitely. The only question you face is, what kinds of weapons do you _want_ for your military?"

Simba sat back, crossed his arms, and stroked his chin as though he had a beard there. Tyber raised an interesting question – one that required some thought. He clicked his tongue and finally said, "I'll have to think on that one. Never really had a supplier of equipment that had access to tech like what you have."

"Take your time, Simba. Think carefully," Tyber said. "As handy as my tech is, it often proves equally dangerous."

"Like your transporter technology?" Nala asked.

"That's more general tech than military; universal, even – it can teleport weapons, armor, ammo, equipment, foodstuffs, water, personnel – you name it," Tyber said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I hadn't originally intended it as a military technology."

"What did you originally intend it for, if you don't mind my asking?" Nala inquired.

"As part of a project I had intended to kick off when I found a suitable place to do so, and one that would take months, or even years, to build; I call it the _Iron Dragon_ ," Tyber replied.

Simba inclined his head, voicing his suspicions: "We're obviously not talking about some home in the middle of nowhere – you intend to build something you didn't want found or interfered with."

"It started off as a contingency plan in case my world ended in what I thought was going to be a fiery cataclysm," Tyber explained. "It was going to be my way off-world, escape the ashes of the apocalypse, if you will. But the date of the supposed cataclysm came and went, and nothing ever happened, and I found the reason for the _Iron Dragon_ was no longer valid."

"A ship," Simba deduced. "You were gonna build a ship. So... what happened?"

"Did you scrap the project?" Nala asked. "If the reason for building your ship was no longer valid, what point was there in keeping the project?"

"I didn't scrap the project. Not entirely. I just... filed it away, until the day it would be needed came around," Tyber sighed. "If not as an escape from fire and death, then other purposes, military or otherwise."

"And you said the transporter technology was part of this project – what were other parts of the project?" Simba asked.

"Another time, Simba," Nala said. "Lunch is ready."

"I will tell you this much, Simba... the crew that would operate my ship could easily support and reinforce your forces," Tyber stated. "As they would, in fact, be holograms. Mobile, sentient holograms."

Simba's mouth hung open in astonishment. "Ingenious!" He complimented. "A hologram military force would be an incredible asset to our forces, and one that did not need rest or training or any other logistical needs outside of weapons and ammo!"

"It'd take months to build, Simba, perhaps years – there are a lot of other details that would also be seen to, and I'd feel a lot safer pulling it off after Jeff is dealt with," Tyber said.

Simba nodded in agreement as they went to get their respective bowls of stew. "Indeed. If he comes after you here, I wouldn't want him sabotaging the project."

"Save the discussion for later – it's lunchtime," Nala scolded, albeit amusedly. Simba and Tyber both sat down to eat, both with new thoughts in mind. Tyber could potentially revolutionize the Pridelands' military forces, Simba thought, augmenting them with whatever Tyber could think of with his clearly vast imagination. Tyber, however... he was surprised his militant projects found such open support from the Pridelands' king. He certainly did not expect him to support the idea of his ship, though he didn't think Simba yet realized his ship was, in fact, a starship. Regardless, he was sure to believe Tyber could pull it off, after seeing that he was gifted with the Force and could create weapons and technologies that did not yet exist. Just a little time, Tyber thought. Just a little time...


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

A month passed after Simba alerted the human government to the truth behind Tyber's family's murder. No reports were ever received detailing Jeff's capture, but Simba – and much to his surprise, Tyber – held onto the hope that Jeff would be caught. In the meantime, Tyber assembled a number of weapons for the Pridelands military forces – a collection of Mandalorian, Sangheili and Baragwin weapons. He personally instructed the lionesses and lions of the force in their proper use, repair, maintaining and cleaning. Even Tyber himself was impressed at how quickly they learned. "Even humans do not learn that fast," he once said. The Pridelands personnel continued to get better, until Tyber himself admitted there was nothing more he could teach them, even with all the technologies he had replicated. Simba was impressed with how he turned what had began as a security force into a true army.

As for Tyber... he took to wearing black armor beneath a black cloak, all protected by what he called a Baragwin Energy Shield, anytime he left Pride Rock – his way of continually mourning his family while at the same time reflecting he was a warrior not to be trifled with lightly. The denizens of the Pridelands, seeing how he wore that black-clad outfit and was dating Princess Vitani, all took to calling him – though he was in no way yet tied to the family – the Black Prince. Much to Tyber's surprise, however, the Pridelands Military forces hailed him by another title.

They called him Lord-Admiral. And it was a title Tyber wore proudly. Even so, the incident prior hung over Tyber. In spite of Vitani's comfort and the fact they were officially dating, he felt he owed her an apology for holding a gun to her head. Vitani insisted she knew he'd never willingly hurt her, but his guilt persisted. He insisted he wanted to make up for it, but admitted he didn't know how.

The Force, it seemed, had plans for exactly that...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

While Kion stocked up a six-wheeled, off-road military Jeep – which Tyber had called a Warthog, for some reason – that Tyber had replicated for the family, Vitani and Kovu had headed out for some brother-sister time, and Tyber was busy stocking up on ammo for his weapons, Simba was dealing with some matters that had cropped up regarding unidentified intruders clad in black, Nala and Zazu aided him in that regard, and Kiara cooked the family's lunch time meal. The whole family was busy.

And for once, that's the way Vitani had preferred it. She felt they all needed a break from recent events, and that Tyber needed some alone time to really think on how he was going to make up for what he did. She didn't condone in the slightest what he did – holding a gun to her head when she only was trying to help him. But she knew he'd never willingly hurt her, which was why she had been so bold that night. He may posture, he may threaten, he may _look_ like he's ready to kill... but she knew that unless she had personally attacked or harmed him, he would never hurt her. She explained as much to Kovu, who was more understanding on the matter than Kion had been. Kovu's concern was similar to Kion's in that someone would accidentally provoke Tyber into a murderous rampage, but Vitani assured him she would do everything she could to keep that from happening – to pull him away from the Dark Side, as it were.

It was as they were passing by a canyon that Vitani spotted something – or thought she did. Black dots at the floor of the canyon. She looked to Kovu and asked, "Kovu, do you still have those binoculars Kiara gave you for your birthday last year?"

Kovu frowned. "Yeah, why?" he asked back.

"Can I borrow them?" Vitani requested. Kovu didn't quite understand, but he handed Vitani his binoculars, and she walked close to the edge of the cliff and peered down. On the canyon floor, she saw a black-cloaked lion conversing with a human with a...

Vitani's blood froze when she recognized this man. She was staring at the face of Tyber's assailant! Moreover, the black-cloaked lion turned to look at her, his eyes glowing yellow, and it was a face Vitani knew well. "Kovu... you'll want to see this," she said quietly to Kovu, handing the binoculars to him and pointing at the two in the canyon. Kovu peered through the binoculars and saw them. "Call it in, Kovu," Vitani told her brother. "Simba's gotta know about this." Before Kovu could go for his radio, they both heard a loud _CRACK!_ Kovu backed up immediately, but Vitani didn't get the chance as the ground beneath her feet crumbled...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Tyber had just finished storing the last of the 6.8mm rounds and was walking into the foyer, thinking about Vitani when he was hit with a sudden, very cold chill. He lost his balance and toppled over, colliding with a chair at the table but catching his fall with his hands when his vision went white and...

 _…_ _Tyber was greeted with a vision. Vitani and Kovu were staring at something in a canyon when the edge cracked and crumbled. Kovu was quick to back away, but Vitani wasn't so lucky; the ground beneath her feet crumbled and fell, taking her with it. Tyber rushed to her aid, but was too late. She had fallen beyond his reach, but managed to grab hold of a tiny outcropping growing out of the canyon wall. If she didn't get help soon..._

… Tyber's mind returned to the present, and he was hit with a sickening, growing sense of dread. Kiara, who had witnessed Tyber's collapse, was at his side in an instant. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"No... _No!_ " Tyber exclaimed. He scrambled up and dashed for the door, nearly running over Simba as he came through it.

"What is it?" Simba asked, never seeing Tyber so panicked.

 _"_ _Vitani's in trouble!"_ Tyber called back.

"Wait, _what?!_ " Simba exclaimed. "How do you know?!"

It was then that Kovu's voice came over the radio. _"_ _Simba, get help down to the Prideland Canyon! Vitani's in trouble! Ground caved beneath her and she fell in! She's holding on, but she won't last long without help!"_

Simba was shocked. How did Tyber know...? Tyber, however, rushed for the Warthog and hopped in, much to the surprise of Kion, who was putting a large loop of rope on the back bed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"No time!" Tyber exclaimed, "I have to get to Vitani! She needs help!" Kion didn't question – he leapt into the passenger seat as Tyber brought the vehicle to life and floored the accelerator. The Warthog lurched and drove off, Kion hanging on for dear life as Tyber pushed the vehicle to its limits. They were racing against the clock, and Tyber prayed he would get to Vitani in time...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Situation was bad, getting worse. Vitani had taken a fall off the edge of a canyon wall that had crumbled. While she had caught herself on a small outcropping, that bit of rock was already crumbling. It wouldn't last much longer. Kovu looked around to find something to pull his sister back up, but had nothing. The strap on his binoculars wasn't nearly long enough to reach her.

 _"_ _Kovu, Tyber's on his way! Find something to keep Vitani holding on!"_ Simba told Kovu over the radio.

"Hold on, Vitani!" Kovu called down to his sister. "Tyber's on his way!"

Vitani, holding on literally for dear life, was utterly terrified. This can't be the way she ended. It can't. So much would be left unsaid, so much not done. So many things she'd never get to experience. And so much she'd never get to show Tyber. Poor man... to lose her would destroy him, and, she feared, push him fully to the Dark Side.

"Tyber," she whimpered, "I... I'm so sorry."

 _"_ _You're not gonna die, Vitani,"_ she heard his voice in her head. _"_ _I won't let you. Not like this."_

"I... can't hold-" Vitani began.

 _"_ _Yes you can! Don't say that! Repeat after me – I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me!"_ Tyber commanded.

Vitani didn't understand how that would help, but she complied, repeating, "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me..."

 _"_ _Keep saying that. The Force can give you strength – listen to it! Let it keep you safe until I can get there!"_

And that's exactly what Vitani did, repeating what Tyber had told her. It almost wasn't enough; the outcropping she was holding onto crumbled, and she fell a short distance before grabbing a thick vine. "Hurry, Tyber..." she whispered.

Up on the surface, Tyber arrived in the warthog and immediately peered over the edge, seeing Vitani – much to Vitani's relief – and began looking frantically around. "Rope," he said. "Alright we need rope, and something to tie it-" he looked to his right and spotted a thick, sturdy rock spike growing vertically out of the ground. Kion shouted to Tyber and tossed him the rope he'd been packing earlier. Tyber immediately set his hasty plan in motion, quickly tying a loop on the rope, draping it over the rock and tightening it, and looked over the edge, down to Vitani. "Vitani... do you trust me?"

Vitani, tears in her eyes, looked up at Tyber as though it were the last time she was going to see him. "Yes, Tyber... I trust you." It was all Tyber needed. He ran to his right, then leapt off the edge of the canyon wall, and, hanging on to the rope, plummeted down the canyon face, down toward Vitani. Vitani, feeling what Tyber was doing, looked up at Kovu, and released her grip.

 _"_ _No!"_ Kovu shouted, as he watched his sister plummet down. But it was not what he thought – just as Kovu thought Vitani was doomed, Tyber flew by, using his momentum from his own fall tied to the rope to catch her mid-fall, and on the upward arc, threw Vitani over the edge, back to safety, then began his downward fall again, this time using his own weight to gain more momentum on the downward swing, and then again, and at the second upward peak, threw himself back onto the edge, spinning briefly before he landed in a kneeling position. He remained that way for a few moments before he rose to his feet, looking at Vitani with his eyes bright green and his face portraying relief. Vitani was still getting up, aided by Kovu, as she spoke with her body shaking from this experience,

"Tyber... you... you saved me... you saved my life... but how... how did you know I was in trouble?"

"The Force warned me you were in trouble," Tyber said, his voice soft, "And I moved quickly. I had to. I couldn't let anything happen to you. I could never live with myself if something happened to you before I got a chance to tell you... that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Vitani asked, momentarily confused.

"For lashing out at you. For holding a gun to your head. For being so cynical and hostile all these months when you and your family did nothing but help me," Tyber responded. "Forgive a doubting, cynical fool. It was never my intent to cause any of you harm, and I am sorry for my hostility."

Vitani's comprehension dawned immediately, and she approached him and threw her arms around him. "There is nothing left to forgive, dear Tyber... and I'm not holding anything against you. You saved my life today, and that means a lot to me. It's proof that you are getting better, that you are not a monster... that you are not as consumed by the Dark Side as you had thought. It's evidence that you really do feel for me, and I..." Vitani paused, fighting back tears. "... I never thought you would do something like this for me." She buried her face in his shoulder. "You've given me a second chance to be what I had wanted from the start, and I thank you. Most of all, this incident... can be called your redemption. You deserve it. And after all we've been through, admittedly, I had begun to fear one of us would be left alone in the dark again... you gave me hope again, Tyber." Tyber said nothing, but instead wrapped his arms around Vitani and gently squeezed her.

 _"_ _Nid fod alun kos alon,_ Vitani," Tyber whispered in her ear. It made her heart swell, as she fully knew what he had said, as she was also versed in that language. It was then that Kion approached the two.

"You!" He pointed a finger at Tyber. Tyber instinctively put himself between Kion and Vitani. "You are a dangerous man," Kion said in a much softer tone. "You are volatile, opinionated, and at times vicious... but it takes guts to pull a stunt like that, and save Vitani's life in the process. It takes... devotion. One of us would have done so in a heartbeat, but you're an outsider, and you didn't have to. Yet you did. You have no ties to this family, yet you came charging across the Pridelands to save one of us. That's what I call dedication." He paused, then thumped a fist on Tyber's arm. "You're alright, big guy. Seems Vitani finally found herself a worthy mate." This statement caused Vitani to blush, making her hide behind Tyber, who smiled and chuckled. He turned to Vitani, putting hands on her shoulders.

"I can sense there was a reason you ended up in that situation, but I'm not going to ask you what it was – not after what you went through," he said to her in a soft voice.

Vitani hugged him tightly, whispering, "Thank you," in his ear before putting a tender kiss on his cheek. After that, they all piled into the Jeep and headed back to Pride Rock...

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

This time, on entering Pride Rock, Vitani was the one walking less heavy of step. She was seen walking into the foyer with her hand joined with Tyber's, and it brought a smile to Simba's face. He found himself thinking of the two of them together. In more ways than one, they already were, but Simba thought it would be good for both of them. For a time, Vitani was jealous of her brother after he married Kiara. It did not take long for Simba to ascertain why – she'd never known love, not in the way Kovu came to know it. After the Unification Incident, Simba had hoped other men would take an interest in Vitani, but somehow... they never did. Then Vitani had the visions of her soulmate, and now here they were. Simba mentally chuckled at how it all was coming together. He couldn't say he expected things to turn out the way they did, but it still had the desired effect, it seemed. They both seemed happier, now. There was still Jeff to deal with, and the mystery surrounding Tyber's arrival in the Pridelands that night... but Simba was confident they would get through it.

It was as Simba saw Kovu approaching him that he got the impression there was more than he immediately saw. "They look better," Simba said in an effort to diffuse the tension, however slight.

"That they do," Kovu admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen Vitani with a bounce like that in her steps. Think it'll go as far as we hope?"

"I'm reasonably certain it will," Simba responded. He looked to Kovu. "You and I both know a man like that wouldn't tear across the Pridelands to someone's rescue like that unless they truly felt for them." He paused, then asked, "Still, I have to ask, just what was Vitani doing that close to the edge?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you," Kovu murmured. "We saw him."

"You saw who?" Simba asked quietly.

"Tyber's assailant, Jeff. He's here, in the Pridelands," Kovu told Simba. Simba's heart slowed. Jeff? In the Pridelands? How did he get here, and without alerting the Humans or the Prideland Military Forces?

"Does he know?" Simba asked.

"I think he suspects it, though he may not know the details," Kovu said. "If he did, I don't think he'd be as relaxed as he is now."

"Either way, I think he deserves to know," Simba said. "But what I don't get is, why would he come here?"

"I think, to finish what he started," Kovu suggested. "You heard Tyber – he's the only one who can put Jeff at the scene of his family's murder. He saw him there. However-"

"It's a hell of a risk," Simba commented. "If any of us saw him, he'd never be able to escape if he tried, especially now."

"Simba, I don't think a simple hit-and-run assassination is at play here. Not anymore," Kovu said.

"How so?" Simba inquired.

"When Vitani and I spotted Jeff, we spotted a lion in a black cloak, but we can't be sure who he is," Kovu answered. "But he seemed to be the one giving orders to Jeff, given how he was nodding."

"Did you see his face?" Simba queried.

Kovu nodded slowly. "And that's what scares me the most – Vitani and I saw Nuka down there. At least that's what we're thinking."

"Nuka?" Simba asked in disbelief. "But... he's dead, isn't he?"

"That's what makes it so scary; he died during the Unification Incident; yet, somehow... we saw him down in that canyon, talking to Jeff," Kovu said. With a worried sigh, he added, "I don't like where this is going. Not one bit."

"I don't, either," Simba agreed. "But still, Tyber must be warned. After everything that happened today, he deserves that much."

"What about those black-clad intruders you were investigating? Anything there?" Kovu asked.

"Another reason I want to talk to Tyber," Simba answered. He took a scrap of black cloth with an odd, hexagonal snowflake symbol out of his pocket. "One of the intruders was wearing this. I don't recognize the emblem, but I'm thinking Tyber might."

"Why?" Kovu queried.

"Because these intruders were armed with laser weapons – similar to what Tyber had developed for us, if less advanced," Simba responded. "I'm thinking Tyber might be able to tell me who they are." He wordlessly headed for Vitani's domicile with that, finding Tyber with Vitani in his room before his computer. Before he could think, Simba heard his voice saying, "Tyber... there's something you need to know."

"Jeff's here in the Pridelands," Tyber said before Simba could. Simba frowned.

"How did you know?" he asked. Tyber chuckled, almost as though he were amused.

"For one, Vitani told me, because she felt I deserved to know; for another, I sensed his presence," Tyber said. "He has come to finish what he started, but also because he seems under orders."

"Maybe this will tell you who," Simba suggested, handing Tyber the cloth with the symbol. Tyber examined the symbol briefly, then closed his eyes and sighed. He then went for his Tricorder, scanned the cloth, and shook his head.

"Then it is as I feared," he said.

"Who is it?" Kovu asked.

"We're likely dealing with Sith forces under the command of a rogue Sith Lord, and from another timeline, to boot," Tyber responded.

"There was a lion at the canyon we saw with Jeff-" Kovu began.

"I know," Tyber interrupted. "Vitani hit me with that, too; all I can say is, either Nuka was alive in whatever timeline he came from, or the Sith we face is using Nuka's appearance as a Force Disguise."

"Is that possible? To use the Force to disguise yourself as someone else?" Simba queried.

"It's been done before," Tyber affirmed. "The Force can be used fore a great many things. The Dark Side, especially, despite its dangers, often proves a source of many abilities some consider to be unnatural."

"What about Jeff? We can't let him run around," Kovu said. "And if he's after you..."

"I know; and it's something I intend to use to my advantage," Tyber said.

Simba's frown deepened. "Something tells me I'm not gonna like this," he said. Tyber gathered his breath, then laid out the details of his plan...


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

The trap was set. Simba was right; he didn't like Tyber's plan. It was gutsy, bold – using himself as bait was a dangerous thing. If Tyber were killed, or this plan backfired, there would be repercussions. Everything they'd all been through would have been for nothing. Together, Simba, Nala and Zazu seeded information that Tyber was not getting along well with the royal family, and leaked that information to ensure it reached Jeff. To further enhance this story, Kovu, Kiara and Vitani staged a number of "incidents" over the course of a few weeks, and Kion pitched in by staging a few of his own. Rafiki intervened as a mediator in these incidents, but gradually let them get worse. The intent here, Tyber explained, was to mislead Jeff into thinking he'd be doing the Pridelands a favor by taking Tyber out. It worked; reports began coming in about a foreigner asking questions about Tyber, rather specific to where he typically went, how long he stayed, and when he went to and from Pride Rock. There were also questions asked regarding Tyber's current disposition toward the family, and whether or not Simba was considering exiling Tyber.

The humans were also involved in this, waiting for the opportunity to scoop Jeff up the second they got the chance. Tyber's previous records had all been expunged, owing to the explanation of the truth of Tyber's past, and he was granted amnesty for anything that might result from this operation. Tyber was also granted full sanction, if it came down to it, to summarily execute Jeff should he prove unwilling to surrender.

Of course, the thing that pissed Simba off the most was how, outside of the Military forces, his family, and trusted allies, he couldn't tell _anyone_ about this operation. If Jeff was to believe it, the people would have to believe it. Lying to his subjects was something he never wanted to do, but in light of how he was unable to come up with a plan of his own that wasn't so risky, he had little choice other than to go with Tyber's plan; he knew Jeff best, and knew better than Simba or even Vitani how to fight him. It was when the foreigner disappeared for a week that Tyber decided to put the final phase of his plan in action. To allow for communication that Jeff couldn't track, Tyber replicated an external neural radio link and gave one to everyone in the family, to allow them to communicate with Tyber through their thoughts. "Borg tech," he called it. He also said he'd remove them when this operation was over. With the trap set, Tyber went about his usual activities, with Kovu, Kiara, Vitani and Kion following. Of course, they were cloaked, so Jeff couldn't see them.

 _This thing is starting to give me a headache,_ Tyber heard Simba's voice in his head.

 _If I were you, I'd be more concerned with whether or not your troops are well enough hidden from Jeff – if he so much as bumps into one of them, it could blow the whole operation,_ Tyber told him.

 _I know – we only get one shot at this,_ Simba said. _I just hope it goes off the way you hope it will._

 _You and I both know, regardless of how this turns out, I need this,_ Tyber stated.

 _It's not just your fight anymore, Tyber – it's_ our _fight. And we will see it finished,_ Vitani interjected.

 _We're coming up on the AO – Tyber, curtain's rising,_ Kovu proclaimed. The designated area of operation – a peaceful neighborhood between the park where Vitani met Tyber and an industrial area – had been ordered indoors well before the usual time, to make it seem as though there would be no witnesses to what Tyber suspected Jeff would do – try to take him out with a sniper attack. Tyber played the part of being suspicious, asking no one in particular, "What the hell...? Where'd everyone go? Bingo?" He cautiously started into the neighborhood, looking around for Jeff, even though he could sense him, and therefore already knew he was in the AO.

Playing into it. He knew Jeff had him in his sights – it's just a matter of whether or not Jeff was prepared to try and kill Tyber a second time. He already had a considerable list of charges; Tyber felt that for a vicious criminal like him, adding a _second_ attempted murder charge wouldn't at all be a stretch for him. But as Tyber moved further into the neighborhood, he got the distinct impression something was off. Jeff had Tyber in his sights, why was he hesitating? Did he have reason to suspect this was a trap? The answer would come sooner than Tyber had thought. Kovu spotted it first – Jeff ignited a blue Lightsaber and tried to drop on Tyber from the rooftop of one of the houses in one specific cul-de-sac as Tyber was passing by. _"_ _Tyber, look out!"_ Kovu shouted. But Tyber had sensed this move a split second before it happened, intercepting the blow before it could land, and using Force-assisted strength to throw Jeff a distance away, toward the center of the cul-de-sac. This was the signal; two full squads of Lionesses de-cloaked and had weapons pointed at Jeff. Even though this operation was in Tyber's hands, his next command came as a shock to Vitani, Kovu and Kiara: "Stay your weapons! He came for me..." Confused, but unwilling to disobey their Lord-Admiral, the Lionesses lowered their weapons. Tyber's next comment was directed at his lifelong nemesis: "You came a long way to commit murder, Jeff."

"And you came a long way to hide from your past," Jeff countered as he got to his feet, grabbing his lightsaber on his way up.

"Hiding? On the contrary," Tyber scoffed. "You fell neatly into our trap."

"Lie if you must, but recognize that the only person you are fooling is yourself," Jeff said. "I know of the incidents between you and the Royal Family; honestly, I'd be doing them a favor by taking you out of the equation."

"Once again, Jeff, you fail to see how wrong you are; the incidents were staged. Everything you think you know was fabricated by us to make you believe what you think you know," Kovu put in. "The intel, Tyber's daily activities, his supposed clashes with us – they were all lies. We beat you at your own game."

"Give it up, Jeff – you have nowhere to run," Kiara added. Jeff looked between the lionesses, Kiara, Kovu, Vitani, and finally stopped at Tyber.

"A master stroke," he finally said. "Now you have me caught like a bear in a trap. So, which way's the wind gonna blow?"

"There was only ever one way this was going to end, Jeff. One. Last. Fight," Tyber hissed, unclipping one of his lightsabers.

"So it begins," Jeff growled, holding his lightsaber at the ready.

"So it ends," Tyber agreed, activating his lightsaber with that _snap-hiss_. He began shouting, began to bathe in that blood-red aura, and then snarled, as he had once before, and went immediately on the attack. Jeff, in spite of not being a Force-user like Tyber, clearly had training in lightsaber dueling, and was able to keep pace with Tyber's erratic attacks. It was almost as if Jeff wanted Tyber to wear himself out before he went on the offensive. Even more curious, he seemed to barely move at all, whereas Tyber was jumping all over the place. There was something about this that seemed familiar to Vitani, but for the life of her, she could not place it. Seemingly helpless, Vitani searched her mind for answers as she watched Tyber's enraged assault on Jeff. He was using his typical combination of Ataru and Juyo, seeking to undo Jeff with his erratic and acrobatic attacks. Tyber kept this up, showing no signs of tiring. But at the same time, Jeff was not tiring either.

Then it hit Vitani – Tyber had spoken of this form before, during one of their conversations: _"_ _Soresu is... a defensive technique. But effective. One would use it if they wished not to be hit. Against blaster bolts, it provides excellent offense. In other situations, it merely delays the inevitable. I have found that, while effective against blasters and single opponents, it is not nearly fast enough for deflecting attacks from a squad of soldiers firing fully-automatic weapons, or attacks made from the rear."_ That's how she could help. But before she could, Jeff deflected one of Tyber's attacks and spin-kicked Tyber to the ground. "You only delay the inevitable, Tyber – you are beaten. It is useless to keep fighting."

"On the contrary," Tyber countered. "You underestimate us all."

Picking up on Tyber's suggestion, Vitani raised her weapon and opened fire on Jeff. Several lionesses took notice and did the same. The attacks splashed across Jeff's personal energy shield, but served Vitani's purpose of distracting Jeff, as he turned to counter the sudden attack, which allowed Tyber to kick himself up off the ground and summon his power, channeling it to a blast of yellow lightning – which struck Jeff in the back, fried his shield, and sent him flying. Several lions had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit by Jeff. Tyber leapt up in the air, and went on the attack again, this time drawing his _second_ lightsaber and advancing on Jeff with attacks from Jar'Kai. Jeff, weary from being hit with automatic weapons and Tyber's Force Lightning, began to struggle – just a little – against Tyber's relentless assault. One blade, he could handle; but, Vitani saw, two blades was a bit much. Even weakened, however, Jeff was still holding his own. They locked blades at one point, where Jeff grunted, "So, what's the game here – two former-family members, locked in mortal combat till, say, the end of time?"

"You could surrender," Tyber chuckled. "But either way, you're going down!" Tyber broke the lock and landed a hit on Jeff's shoulder. Evidently aware of his sudden vulnerability, Jeff tried to make a break for it – only to find Vitani and the lionesses in his way, all pointing automatic weapons at him. As if that weren't enough, human SWAT members began arriving on-scene. "Face it, Jeff – you're finished. You fell into our trap, and you have nowhere to run," Tyber called out to him, calmly walking toward him. "Fight or flee, surrender or don't, you will answer for your crimes!" Tyber undid his cloak, letting it fall at his feet, as he extinguished his lightsabers, connected them, and them twirled it as he reactivated it as a lightsaber staff. Desperate, and still unwilling to surrender, Jeff launched an attack on Tyber, who became an impossible target to hit as he twirled the staff and used it as a shield against Jeff's attack, while counterattacking where he could. Still weakened from the earlier attack, and now losing his energy and patience rapidly, Jeff tried again and again to break through, only to have his attacks redirected and deflected. The final move came when Tyber broke the staff into two lightsabers again, put fourth a series of attacks that rendered Jeff immobile for a split second, and in that moment, Tyber swung his lightsabers in opposing directions toward each other, and tore Jeff's lightsaber out of his hand. He then kicked him between his legs, then sent another kick into him that sent him to the ground. Tyber was quick to pin Jeff to the ground and hold his lightsabers at Jeff's throat in a scissor formation. Nothing was said for a good fifteen seconds.

 _This is it,_ Vitani thought. _The moment Tyber's been waiting for, the moment he's worked toward for many years._ She knew, this was why Tyber put fourth this plan – something he had to do, to get it out of his system. He had to face Jeff one last time, defeat him once and for all, cleanse the pain from his mind. Now, he had Jeff right where he wanted him; one flick of his wrists, and a lifetime of pain and suffering would be ended. But there was another reason for this moment, Vitani realized, as Tyber spoke:

"How did you ever call yourself my father?"

"I was your father once... but no more," Jeff responded.

"Father was a title you never earned!" Tyber sneered. "You were nothing more than a liar and a tyrant! You are a total goddamn catastrophe!"

"So kill me!" Jeff spat back. "If it's vengeance you want, this is the time!"

"God knows I'd certainly like to – but there's one thing I wanted more than vengeance, and that's answers!" Tyber hissed. "You murdered my family trying to kill me off – and by god, if it kills me, I want to know why!"

Jeff hesitated, but nonetheless answered, "Police investigators were developing methods of extracting memories from victims of crimes, evidence that would be admissible in court. If the police got your memories of your clashes with me, they'd have arrested me on charges that were decades old... and I had a family to think of."

"Bullshit! You weren't thinking of your family when you killed mine! You only thought of yourself!" Tyber exclaimed. "But, your one mistake was believing I couldn't bring you down; you thought I was the uneducated, unintelligent child who never let go of his past, and therefore would be an easy target,"

"My mistake was that your family was never supposed to be there – it was supposed to have been just you," Jeff admitted. "I couldn't risk any of them identifying me, so I tried to take you all out. I thought the bomb I planted would be enough to make sure you all were silenced; clearly, I was mistaken. So it all falls now to what you want to do. I'm beaten either way – I have nothing to lose, so kill me. Demonstrate your superiority!"

"Don't listen to him, Tyber!" Vitani shouted to him. "He's trying to goad you! Trying to get you to give in!"

"Don't listen to her – she doesn't understand who you really are, and she never will," Jeff taunted.

"Shut it, Jeff!" Vitani snapped. "I'm the largest reason Tyber's fit in so well here! I'm the reason he survived your attempt to kill him!"

"There's no place you can go, no person you can talk to, that it won't catch up to you," Jeff told Tyber. "It's how every story ends. It's what you are, Tyber – a killer. You always will be." Tyber pressed in with his blades, breathing heavily and angrily, ready to sever Jeff's head. "Go ahead – go on! Go on! Do it! Do it!" But, contrary to what Vitani expected, Tyber hesitated, but eventually retracted his blades.

"No," he said calmly, looking to Vitani with his eyes shifting green briefly before looking back at Jeff. Moving his head to indicate Vitani, he continued, " _She_ wouldn't want me to. _They_ wouldn't want me to. _My family_ wouldn't want me to. You don't deserve the nice things they'd put on your tombstone, and the last thing I need now is another lie. You're wrong about me – I'm no killer." He motioned for the SWAT members to come and cuff Jeff. "It was always going to be me that brought you down. But killing you... it was never going to be me that killed you. Goodbye, Jeff... may you meet your fate swiftly." Tyber's lightsabers switched off as he turned and walked away as Jeff was being dragged away. The day was won.

Justice was served.

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Not a word was said when Tyber walked into the foyer. Simba knew well what had transpired in that cul-de-sac, of how Tyber dueled Jeff. He knew Tyber had defeated Jeff, and how Jeff had been taken into custody by the humans. All that remained now was to comfort Tyber, at the end of nearly thirty years of pain and torment. For now, though, Simba left Tyber alone as he went for some coffee and sat down at the table. Vitani sat next to him, gently gripping his hand in hers. Occasionally, she'd hug him or lean on him. Kion, Kovu and Kiara arrived ten minutes later.

"Well?" Simba asked.

"It's done," Kion said.

"Jeff?" Simba queried.

"Taken into custody, charged with nine counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, among other charges," Kovu reported.

Kiara scoffed. "He'll be lucky to avoid the death penalty for all that," she said.

"And Tyber?" Simba inquired.

"The human officer asked us to convey their apology on behalf of the United States, stating that, and I quote, 'In light of what has happened, both recently and in the past, the United States of America owes a debt of apology to him. The American Government believes in and encourages a profound moral ethic, and those responsible for allowing this tragedy to happen will be dealt with. Rest assured that Jeff will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that his crimes, both distant and recent, will not go unpunished'," Kovu explained.

"It is finished, then," Tyber spoke from the table, with a tone that nearly sounded solemn. "After nearly thirty years... it is done."

"Yes, Tyber," Nala assured him. "It's finally over."

"Why do you sound so sad?" Vitani asked. Tyber looked to her, his eyes still green.

"You, of all of us, know well what I've been through. Today was the greatest victory I've had in my life, but it came at a high cost," he said. "Do not mistake my tone for melancholy – I am absolutely overjoyed this war is over. But now... I find myself at a loss."

"How so?" Simba asked, sitting down at the table.

"For nearly thirty years, I've clashed with Jeff. Thirty years, I've fought him. Now that I've won... I don't know what to do. So many years of my life had been defined by my anger against him, my... pursuit of justice. Now... now, with Jeff no longer there to haunt my thoughts... I don't know what to do," Tyber explained. Vitani gently squeezed his hand.

"Perhaps now, you can find your own way, like the rest of us," she told him. "It think that's what your family would have wanted. Because that's what it means to be free."

"And, of course, I never forgot, Vitani... you were the catalyst that made all this possible," Tyber said, his voice beginning to shake. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't found me, that night. If you hadn't stayed at my side through it all. If you you hadn't been so calm and understanding, even when I was at my worst. You made this dream of justice a reality." He looked to the others. "You all did. I could never repay you for all you've done for me."

Simba shook his head. "You've no need to, Tyber. I've said it before – you're one of us. And in our family, we take care of our own."

"So I think it appropriate to finally tell you, Tyber... welcome home," Nala added.

Unbeknownst to even Tyber, looking through a camera that had briefly been hacked, yellow eyes watched this scene unfold. Jeff had failed. Soresu form had been a good start, but Jeff had been doomed from the start. He fell neatly into the Lord-Admiral's trap. The Sith had known Tyber had a penchant for those. Now... he had to step in, himself. The revolutionary royal. The Traitorous siblings. The haunted, wounded child rising from nothing. They all had to die, so the Sith would reign supreme.

Vitani. Tyber. Kovu. Kiara. All must die.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The nightfall following Tyber's victory against Jeff, Tyber was especially tired. Neither Simba nor Nala blamed him; he'd fought the greatest fight of his life, and come up standing. Bringing down Jeff took a lot out of him, however. Vitani was proud to say she aided in that regard, and Tyber did not dispute that. Just after nightfall, Tyber and Vitani retired to what was now being referred to as "their" domicile. They had both grown accustomed to sharing a bed, and they both knew Simba had grown used to the idea, so it was truly no surprise to see them crawl into bed together. That night, Vitani held Tyber closer than before, a big smile on her face. Tyber was sound asleep, one hand holding Vitani's that was wrapped around his chest. He'd come a long way in the time she'd known him. He'd gone from a wounded man haunted by a past he neither asked for nor deserved, to the most militaristic member of the family, empowered by the power of the Force. He had also gotten Kion to accept him, turned the Pridelands' security force to a true Army, equipped said army with technology even his own people couldn't begin to touch, saved Vitani's life, and thinking on everything that has transpired so far, Vitani came to the realization that perhaps she was falling in love with him. But how to tell him? A good question... but not one to wake him up over. He'd earned his rest. So she instead put a tender kiss on the back of his neck. She may not be willing to say it aloud at the present moment, but she could at least express to herself that she loved him. Just thinking of it made her heart swell; perhaps, now, facing the trials of recent times, she could call him her lover. It was a wonderful thought. Perhaps, down the road, she would see herself getting married. Having children. Watching them grow up, and seeing her grandchildren. So many things were possible, now, and she believed Tyber when he said she had been the catalyst that made it all possible. She stayed at his side through his darkest times. She took him in when he had everything taken from him. She gave him a home. People to call family. What would Tyber's own family have thought, she wondered? She knew they weren't always so cruel to Tyber – what would they think of a relationship between her and Tyber? An interesting thought, but one that didn't really matter. She felt that his family would be happy he'd found a soulmate in her. So, with the realization she loved Tyber in mind, she snuggled close and began drifting off to sleep, herself...

 **/**

Vitani woke the next morning to a beep from Tyber's computer. She looked around, seeing the sunlight in the window, and got out of bed grumbling. She put on a robe and went to the room his computer was in, and was a bit surprised when the screen read "INCOMING TRANSMISSION: PRIORITY ALPHA". She frowned, but was still unwilling to wake Tyber up over this. Instead, she walked out into the foyer, where Simba, Nala and Kovu were already enjoying morning meal; Kiara was just getting hers, and Timon and Pumba were just walking in.

"Jeez, you're up early," Timon commented.

"Yeah, I'd have thought you and Tyber would have slept a lot later than normal," Simba agreed. He then frowned, noticing Vitani's expression. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Vitani replied. "Kovu, did the human liaison you spoke to yesterday say he was going to get in touch with Tyber through his computer?"

Kovu frowned. "No... in fact, I never mentioned Tyber had one to him, why?"

Vitani looked to Simba. "Don't look at me!" Simba said defensively. "I didn't know his computer could do that!"

"What does the transmission say? Who's calling?" Kiara queried.

"It doesn't say – just says 'incoming transmission, priority alpha'," Vitani responded.

"Tyber might know," Nala suggested.

"Yes, but I was hoping to not wake him up over this," Vitani said.

"Not much choice," Kovu stated. "If someone is trying to get a hold of him, he should know." Vitani sighed wearily, then turned and went back into her domicile and to the room where she and Tyber had been sleeping. Tyber was still sound asleep. She walked around the bed, to his front, and gently shook him.

"Tyber... Tyber, wake up," she spoke softly. Tyber snorted and woke, looking at Vitani and smiling.

"Did I sleep too late?" he asked.

"Not at all," Vitani replied, returning the smile. "But you have an incoming transmission, priority alpha."

"Priority Alpha?" Tyber yawned as he sat up. "That's... strange."

"How so?" Simba queried.

"A Priority-Alpha transmission is a very important message, one that could not be broadcast over typical channels," Tyber explained.

"Who has access to the means to send such?" Simba asked.

"That's just it; I never gave anyone the means to," Tyber replied. "Does the transmission say who sent it?"

Vitani shook her head. "No, just that it's a priority-alpha transmission."

Tyber shrugged and put on a shirt. "Well, no reason we shouldn't hear it out, whoever it is," he said. He walked into the room, sat down at the computer, and touched a button. "Access Code: Black Viking," Tyber spoke. The screen blinked, and what they saw after was a shock to them all. They were staring at the face of one they knew, red mane and all.

They were staring at Simba himself. "This message is intended for my friend, brother-in-arms, and closest ally, Tyber Drakona. Tyber, if you're hearing this, then two things have come to pass: One, you have defeated your ex-stepfather after he murdered your family, and you are now free from his machinations; and two, Vitani has come to the realization that she loves you," Simba stated, eliciting surprised looks, and causing Vitani to blush. "The latter may come as a shock to you – or not, given recent events. Either way, we'll get to that, but the former, I think, deserves explanation," Simba continued. "I know you likely still have questions, even in the wake of your victory, not the least of which is how you got here in the Pridelands, and how your belongings were salvaged and sent to you. The answer is simple, yet complicated; _I_ am the one who sent you to the Pridelands in the wake of that blast. In my timeline, you had... 'educated' me on the use of your technology, so that I and my family might better use it against our enemy. The enemy I speak of – a Sith we know only by the name of Darth Phospho. We never knew much more than the name, and that he intended to conquer the Pridelands as part of some vendetta. Unfortunately, he managed to get a hold of some of your tech, and was able to go back in time; we think his goal was to kill you before you met us, so that he would have an easier time conquering us. You sent me back in time to stop him. Regrettably, I arrived too late to stop your ex-stepfather, who had been contracted by Phospho to eliminate you. Fortunately, I arrived to save _you_. You once warned me that tampering with the timeline was dangerous, but I had no choice. I took it further by going further back to salvage your possessions, and I installed a dead man's switch in your computer that was wired to trigger this message when Jeff had been defeated. But again, if you're hearing this, it also means that Vitani has come to realize she loves you, which brings me to my next point." Simba paused, then, as though he knew Vitani was there, shifted his gaze to her. "Vitani, you once told me that you felt for Tyber – loved him, even if he didn't love you. But you were so afraid of telling him, of how you thought it would affect his military career. But nothing could have been further from the truth. Tyber loved you more than either of us could ever express with words. You two have walked the same paths, dealt with the same traumas. You eventually told him, in my timeline, but even you admitted it was far too late. You... you died in his arms, telling him that. Died of a mortal injury, incurred on a mission you and he did together. It was the first you two did together... and the last. He was never the same after you died, and neither was I. I promised myself that, should I go back in time, set things right... I would help you two realize what you have together. Never forget how much you two love each other. Never forget what you have together. Tyber viewed you as a chance to live the life he might have had. He saw you as his other half. He admitted such, after you died. Told me he wasn't complete without you. No matter what you fear of him, Vitani, no matter what might happen, _never_ forsake him. _Never_ be afraid to tell him how you feel. Any relationship involves risk, and as I see it now... you two were meant for each other. What you feel for him, and what he feels for you... it is real. It was meant to be. No matter what happens, always remember: You have each other." Simba's gaze returned to Tyber. "With all that said, Tyber... I feel it prudent to warn you: You may have defeated Jeff, but Phospho is still out there. Your one mistake was that you underestimated him. You even admitted as much. Never underestimate the lengths he will go to to get what he wants. I don't have much, but when this message finishes, you will find some files have been unlocked and ready to view. We never had much in the way of intel on Phospho's goals outside what I have already said, but we did know he was after something, here in the Pridelands. We never found out what before we drove him to try tampering with the timeline. We only got one reference to what he was after – something called The Ark, and we think he believed the key to the Ark was here in the Pridelands. The files will contain the details. And so, my old friend, I bid you farewell. I don't know if we'll ever see each other again, but I know my counterpart in that timeline will appreciate you as much as I do. Farewell... Lord-Admiral." The transmission ended after that. Tyber slumped down in his chair. He finally had an answer. The answer to a question that had burned in Tyber's mind since the night he came here.

"So... it was me," Simba said. "It was me who sent you here. Me from another timeline."

"Different timeline or no, Simba, I owe you everything," Tyber stated. "Strange he would know so much of what happened in this timeline. But he wasn't wrong about me."

"And he wasn't wrong about me, either," Vitani spoke. "I have no idea how he knew it in this timeline, but he wasn't wrong." She looked up at Tyber. "I do love you. I felt it strongly, last night. Felt it since our first date together. I just... I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know if you felt the same way."

"You and I both know I do," Tyber said, standing up and approaching her. "You took me in when I had nothing. Gave me a home when I had none. A family. You saved my life the night we met. And since our first date, I have been coming to grips with the fact that I love you, too. I would have told you so much sooner, but I didn't want to scare you off. Ironically, I was afraid of the same thing you were – afraid that you didn't feel the same way." Vitani found herself instinctively reaching out to Tyber, who did the same, and they leaned their heads on one another. "You are everything to me, Vitani – not a day goes by I don't think of you. I wouldn't be here without you."

Vitani's heart swelled. They really were in this moment – this life – together. He loved her. He wanted her. Here, at the end of one road, began another, and it was a road they would walk together. "And you mean the world to me, too, Tyber," she told him. "You give me hope. Hope for a life I was beginning to fear I'd never have. You have been tormented, tortured since the moment we met, but of all of us, you chose me. You could have gone with anyone else, but you chose me. A lioness. I had feared you wouldn't."

"Did you forget?" Tyber inquired with a smile. "I have a soft spot for felines." Vitani chuckled, then laughed lightly, looking into Tyber's eyes as though it was her first time. She nuzzled her nose on his, then leaned in to meet him at the lips for their first kiss, and she felt elated as she did so, holding him close and tight enough that she could feel his heart beat with hers.

"That's beautiful," Nala whispered to Simba.

"That it is... but let us leave them alone – this moment is theirs, and theirs alone," Simba suggested. He, Nala and Kovu all left the domicile with broad smiles.

Vitani finally had her soulmate.

(Take heart, this is not the end. I still have to go through Part II.)


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Three months. Three months had passed since the incident with Jeff and Tyber. Vitani and Tyber continued to grow closer each day. Tyber made himself a worthy prince, and it would seem, a prince of the people, always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need. At the same time, with the revelation brought about by the files, Tyber, at Simba's urging, moved forward with Project Regent, and began laying the foundation of what would become the Pridelands' Naval Star Fleet. The reasons for this were two-fold: One, it was noted by Simba's alternate-timeline counterpart in the files that Darth Phospho, whoever he was, had a space fleet of his own, responsible for the destruction of countless worlds; Two, in the event that it did come to war, and when it ended, having a space fleet would allow the Pridelands to colonize other planetary bodies, and offer the same to other states. It was during this time that Tyber and Vitani occasionally dropped hints about getting married, something that always made Simba smile. He sometimes wondered how Zira would feel about Vitani and Tyber getting married.

Fate, it would seem with a twist of irony, would have plans to answer that question, as Tyber lay sleeping with his arms wrapped around his lover. Since defeating Jeff, the nightmares that plagued Tyber's dreams began to fade, until they ceased entirely. Since coming to love each other, Tyber and Vitani were seen everywhere together. Where there was one, there was always the other. But tonight, Tyber lay unaware of what comes his way. It started with a flash of light, and he found himself in that same canyon that was adjacent to the site of the first – and last – battle of the Unification Incident. It was also the same canyon he saved Vitani in. Why was he here, he wondered? It occurred to him that this was a Force Vision, but of what? The answer would provide itself, but it would still be unexpected; there would be a bright flash of light, the sound of water splashing, and sudden gasping for air, followed by coughing. _"_ _What... have I... d... done? Where... am I?"_ asked a female voice. Tyber squinted and saw a lioness, clearly injured and soaking wet, on all fours, crawling and eventually collapsing on her side. Tyber wanted to move to assist, but found his legs wouldn't budge. Who was this woman?

 _"_ _Someone's down in that canyon!"_ someone up above shouted.

 _"_ _Fetch the rescue teams! She looks injured!"_ shouted another. There was another flash, and Tyber found himself on the bridge of his flagship, the _Iron Dragon_. The woman he saw in the canyon was standing before him at attention, but in a full Coalition Naval Uniform.

 _"_ _Zira, you have gone above and beyond in these recent months,"_ he said. _"_ _You have gained the loyalty of the Coalition, and you have earned our trust. You are a credit to us all. That being said, I have come to rely on you heavily. It is only fitting you join the upper echelon. Effective immediately, you are hereby given the rank of Admiral. Congratulations, Admiral Zira."_ Zira snapped off a sharp salute, which was returned by Tyber. The light flashed again, and Tyber awoke next to Vitani with a silent, sudden inhale, his heart rate slightly elevated, but not overly so. His arms were still wrapped around Vitani's waist, and she was still sound asleep. Sunlight shone through the nearby window, and birds were chirping outside. Tyber reluctantly sat up, groaning quietly. It was all that was needed to wake Vitani, evidently.

"Baby?" she asked groggily. "Is everything okay?"

"I just had a... a Force Vision," Tyber told her.

"A vision? Of what?" Vitani asked.

"I don't know," Tyber responded. "I saw a woman in the vision... a lioness. I think I heard her called... Zira."

Vitani's expression turned to shock. "You're certain you heard that?" she asked.

"Why? Who is she?" Tyber asked back.

There was a long pause before Vitani answered, "She's my mother..."

" _That_ was your mother?" Tyber said with surprise.

"Your vision... what was she doing?" Vitani asked.

"As strange as it is to admit it... the first part showed her being spotted in that canyon I rescued you in; the second part seemed to suggest she would become a part of the Coalition. An Admiral," Tyber answered.

Vitani was now concerned, and her facial expression showed it – Zira? Somehow alive after it was on record that she drowned in rushing waters from a broken dam during the Unification Incident? And rising in the ranks of the Coalition to be an Admiral? How was that possible? "The first part of your vision... how did she end up in that canyon?" Vitani queried.

"I didn't exactly see – I only saw a flash of light, heard splashing water, and there she was," Tyber responded.

"Could our counterparts in the other timeline have had a hand in that?" Vitani inquired.

"I couldn't tell you that until I got a detailed Tricorder scan of her," Tyber answered. A long pause followed this.

"Simba's got to be warned," they both said in unison. They quickly hurried into their clothes and headed into the foyer, where Simba was already present with Nala and Kion, and Kovu and Kiara were just walking into the room.

Simba took notice of Tyber and Vitani's expressions and said, "You two alright? You both look like you saw a ghost."

"I think we did," Vitani told him. Tyber then explained the details of his vision to Simba, whose brow furrowed. Even Rafiki was concerned.

"Your dream was far too vivid to be a dream, young Tyber," Rafiki said. "I believe you when you say it is a vision. A foretelling told by the Force itself."

"Could it be that Zira may be a threat once more?" Simba asked.

"Given Tyber's history and affinity with the Force... I do not think so," Rafiki replied. "The vision seemed to suggest atonement. But how Zira is still alive... I can only-"

It was then that Zazu came dashing through the door, panting heavily. "Sire... you're not going to believe this!" he panted. "Zira... she's been found! In that canyon! The site of the Battle of Unity!"

Simba's frown deepened. But Kovu was completely taken aback. "Mother's _alive_?! How is that possible?!"

"I don't know, sire – but I imagine she's at the hospital, by now," Zazu said.

"We'd better go see her," Simba suggested. "She may be able to fill in some of the blanks."

"Agreed," Tyber concurred.

"I'm coming, too," Kovu put in.

"So am I," Kiara added.

"Given her injuries, I think she'd be pleased to see all of us," Zazu said. They all headed out, moving at a quickened pace to the Mufasa Memorial Hospital, where they met with the same doctor who had treated Tyber when he first arrived, Doctor Vandi. Simba was the first to speak.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"Zira is resting comfortably," Vandi reported. "But her injuries were severe; three of her ribs were cracked, two were nearly broken, she has multiple bruises and cuts, she had water in her lungs and stomach, she was malnourished, and she was bleeding internally... but she'll make a full recovery."

"Has she said anything?" Simba asked.

"She's repeatedly asked to see all of you, and asked messengers to convey that she is sorry," Vandi replied.

"Can we see her?" Kovu asked, his tone soft and almost melancholic.

Vandi nodded. "Of course, my prince." One by one, the family filed into the room where Zira was being held. Zira had been looking out of a nearby window next to her bed, and when she looked over to see them, her expression turned to that of a mother seeing her children for the first time in a long time. Kovu was the first to embrace Zira, who returned the embrace and kissed his cheek.

"My poor, poor son... so many things I did to you..." she said. She looked to Kiara. "And you, Kiara... how vicious I was to you, trying to drag you down with me..." her gaze to Vitani. "Vitani... I'm so sorry. For everything." Simba remained stoic, even as Zira's gaze shifted to him. "Simba... I realize that I'm the last person you want to trust right now."

"Got that right; the last time we saw you, you tried to take my kingdom by force and kill me," Simba said.

"Well, please allow that a near-death experience can change even the most hardened," Zira pleaded.

"That's why you're not being thrown in the stockade; what you did was a long time ago," Simba stated. He paused to inhale, then continued, "You'll be pleased to know your people have integrated into the Pridelands quite successfully, and that I've treated them as Pridelanders ever since that incident. Kiara and Kovu have been married for the last seven years. And now, Vitani found her own soulmate."

Zira looked surprised, and looked to Vitani, who nodded in confirmation. "Was your lover unable to visit me? I would have liked to meet him," Zira said.

"Don't talk about him like that," Simba gently scolded with a shake of his head. "He's standing in this room right now." He motioned his head to indicate Tyber. Walking behind Tyber and putting hands on his shoulders, he continued, "This is Lord-Admiral Tyber Drakona, our current head of Military affairs, adopted Prince of the Pridelands, and Vitani's soulmate." Zira's expression was surprised, but she soon smiled softly.

"My apologies, Lord-Admiral – I meant no offense," she apologized. Tyber shook his head.

"No offense taken – believe me, I've had people do me much worse before," he said. He walked closer to Zira. "I imagine this is all a surprise to you. A lot can happen in seven years."

"Clearly," Zira agreed. "What I don't understand is how I got here."

"For that, I need to get a scan of you," Tyber said, unfolding his Tricorder. Zira seemed apprehensive of the device.

"W-what is that?" she stammered.

"Relax; it's a Tricorder," Tyber assured her, as he ran the device along Zira's body. The device beeped in rapid tones, and Tyber's expression became worried. He closed the Tricorder, and looked Zira in the eyes. "What's the last thing you remember before ending up in the canyon where you were found?"

Zira's expression turned grave. "I remember falling into that river... I couldn't breathe, kept sucking in water, getting beaten with the wood in the river... I thought that was it. But the last thing... right before I ended up in that canyon... I briefly saw a portal, or vortex or something, right beneath my feet. Big, swirling, with a pitch-black center hole. I remember... it pulled me through it, and then I found myself in that canyon, regretting I ever used my own children for my own ends." Tyber's expression became more concerned, and he subtly nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder and said,

"Get some rest, Zira. Catch up with your children. There will be time to get to know me later." He then looked to Vitani, who nodded subtly, and Tyber motioned his head to Simba, who followed him out to the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, Tyber turned to Simba. "The anomaly she describes sounds suspiciously like a Temporal Rift," he said.

"Like the one that brought you here?" Simba asked. Tyber shook his head.

"My temporal event was different, used in a transporter beam; what Zira's describing is similar, but not the same. It would seem she was sent forward in time, to our present."

"Could my alternate-timeline counterpart be responsible?" Simba queried. Tyber again shook his head.

"No," he answered, "because you made no mention of Zira in the message you left me, and she was never mentioned in the files you left me. Instinct says something else is at play here."

"So how did a temporal rift appear and bring Zira to our present?" Simba asked.

"How, indeed – but that's just it; they don't just form without reason, and I've never heard a case of one forming _underwater_ ," Tyber responded.

Simba and Tyber both stood in concerned silence, wondering just how and why Zira had been brought here from the brink of death, and just what else was going to play out...


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

In spite of his reservations, Simba allowed Zira to move in with the rest of the family. Kovu and Kiara willingly and selflessly gave up a room for Zira to live in, and Zira happily accepted. Simba was hesitant to trust Zira, and Nala, while more forgiving, was the same. Both, however, accepted that a near-death experience can change even the most hardened. Zira would be treated no differently. Still, Zira was rather weak from her near-death experience, so much so that Doctor Vandi mandated that she remain at-rest for at least a week. Zira didn't complain, and neither did Kovu or Kiara, willingly sticking by Zira to help her out. But Zira's attention was, understandably, on Vitani and her new lover, as Vitani would find out one particular morning when she woke. Tyber had left early, to deal with a matter that had arisen aboard the _Iron Dragon_ , and Vitani didn't mind. She was glad he had such a great career. The Black Prince. Lord-Admiral. Vitani even heard whispers from the lionesses that he was being called the Prince of the People. So, Vitani rose from bed, dressed, and walked out to the foyer, where Zira was waiting with Kovu. Kiara, Simba and Nala were not present. "Just the woman I was hoping to see," Zira said with a beaming smile. "Finally managed to pry yourself from your pillow?"

"Says the woman who sleeps like a rock and snores like sawing logs," Vitani retorted. Zira just laughed.

"Apparently, she's also picked up on Tyber's smart-ass remarks," Kovu chuckled.

"And how is dear Tyber? Still sleeping in there?" Zira asked.

"No, Tyber had to take care of a matter that had arisen aboard the _Iron Dragon_ , so he left early this morning," Vitani replied as she strode over to the coffee pot and began pouring herself a glass.

"What is that stuff?" Zira inquired with a slight frown.

"Coffee. Would you like a cup?" Vitani offered.

"I don't know – stuff smells weird," Zira responded.

"It's one of the things we all picked up from Tyber; I've tried it myself. Despite the odd smell, if you put the right ingredients in, it's actually not bad," Kovu assured his mother. "Which reminds me, Vitani – if you see Tyber before me, let him know the master blend is out?"

"Will do," Vitani replied as she began putting her usual reagents in to her coffee.

"Master blend? Hnh... sounds fancy," Zira remarked.

"Well, the brand is a popular one – Gevalia Master Blend-" Kovu began.

"-Is Tyber's favorite; he orders them all the time," Vitani finished.

"So, tell me something," Zira requested, "How did you meet Tyber?"

Vitani chuckled. "It's a long story," she told her mother.

"I'm not going anywhere, so humor me," Zira responded. Vitani heaved a nostalgic sigh.

"Tyber came to us by way of what we now are calling a Temporal Transporter. Simba's... alternate-timeline counterpart sent Tyber to us in the wake of an explosion that killed his family, destroyed his home, and nearly killed him," she said. "Kovu, Kiara and I happened to be out that night trying to figure out why we heard a scream. As we understand it now, it was sent through the Force, strong enough for all of us to hear it. We tracked Tyber to the heart of a park we named after you, and found Tyber, half-dead and bleeding out."

"What caused the explosion? Do you know?" Zira asked.

"It was a bomb planted by Tyber's ex-stepfather, Jeff," Kovu responded. "He was contracted by a Sith from the same timeline as Simba's alternate-timeline counterpart to take Tyber out."

"It took us a while to piece together the whole story, and some of what we did to do so we aren't proud of, but eventually, we got Tyber to open up," Vitani continued, sitting at the table with her coffee. "And over time, I developed what became my relationship with him."

"Whatever happened to Jeff?" Zira inquired. "Did he ever get caught?"

"Indeed he did," came Tyber's voice from the foyer doorway. All heads turned to see him standing there, as though he had just walked in. "It was a stroke of tactical genius, if I may be so modest. We tricked him into believing I wasn't getting along well in the Pridelands, and that I was soon to be exiled, the idea being to get him thinking he'd be doing the Royal Family a favor by taking me out."

"And he fell for it?" Zira queried. Tyber nodded.

"Fell for it like a sack of potatoes; he tried to ambush me, but what I did not realize was that he'd been trained in lightsaber dueling," Tyber stated. "But his mistake there was that he used the wrong lightsaber form for the fight. As I explained to Vitani, Soresu form is a very good defensive form, useful if you wished not to be hit; against blasters, it provides excellent protection. In other situations, it merely delays the inevitable. Jeff made a shrewd choice starting with that, but he did not count on being fired on from behind, nor did he use a more offensive form."

"So what happened after you defeated him? Did you strike him down?" Zira asked.

"I was tempted to... but I didn't," Tyber answered. "I turned him over to the human authorities, and to my knowledge, he was tried and convicted of several counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, among other charges, and he was executed some time ago."

"Now, his family has justice, and over time with me, Tyber has overcome his nightmares," Vitani concluded. Her next comment was directed at Tyber: "Thought you were aboard the _Iron Dragon_?"

"Just minor matters that required my attention – shipyard updates I asked for, personnel reports, and prospects for a moon base are looking very promising," Tyber responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Moon base?" Zira repeated. "You're building a moon base?"

"Considering it, technically," Tyber corrected her. "We're still trying to decide a zone to start construction, and have a few candidates already picked out. I sent survey teams to those sites to determine viability."

"Does Simba know this?" Zira asked.

"He was the one who suggested building it in the first place," Tyber chuckled. He looked to Kovu. "Did Simba ever get back from his... whatever it was?"

Kovu shook his head. "He left out around the same time you did – no idea when he'll be back," he said.

"Oh, and before I forget, baby, the Gevalia Master Blend is out," Vitani told Tyber. Tyber looked confused for a moment, then his expression changed as he remembered something.

"I figured someone would use the last of it, so I ordered a fresh batch this morning on the way to the _Iron Dragon_ ," he stated. "But I appreciate you telling me." He looked to Zira. "I don't suppose you'd like a cup?"

Zira smiled and chuckled. "You're the second person this morning to offer such to me."

"Yeah, well, I'm nothing if not hospitable, these days," Tyber said. He paused, then added, "Which reminds me, my XO personally had a list of recommendations for officer training among the Coalition – persons from the Pridelands that had volunteered to be a part of the Pridelander Coalition Joint Task Force... and I recall your name having a shining recommendation."

Zira raised an eyebrow. "Did it, now?" She asked. "A recommendation from whom, may I ask?"

"Believe it or not, from Simba himself," Tyber responded. Kiara, Kovu and Vitani all looked to Zira.

"Mom?" Kovu spoke first. "Did... did you volunteer for the Coalition?"

Zira smiled. "I wanted to earn my redemption, and it seemed the best way to do so," she stated.

"Well, what got me was it was Simba who recommended you; in his comment, he said you have considerable command experience, and openly admitted that you had lead forces into combat before. You understand, that's not something any military leader would commonly come across," Tyber told her.

"Did he also tell you that I had led my forces against him?" Zira asked.

"No, not to me directly – but I was there when he commented on the last time you and he saw each other, that day in the hospital. But whether you led forces against him is irrelevant – fact is, you have command experience... much more than most of the recruits I have," Tyber replied.

"Which means what for my volunteering in the Task Force?" Zira queried.

"It means you would be an excellent candidate for Officer Training," Tyber said. "Again, I don't often get recruits that have the kind of command experience you have."

"What does that mean? That I could possibly get my own ship?" Zira chuckled.

"Quite possibly, yes. You clearly are no stranger to leadership – my XO thinks it wouldn't be a stretch for you to command a starship," Tyber responded. "But first, you need to heal up. No rush." Tyber looked up, at something behind Zira, and Vitani looked and noticed the towering, bulky figure of the holographic Sangheili she'd come to know as Grand Admiral Voro 'Mantakar. Vitani had to admit, the Sangheili stature could be quite intimidating – it took her some time to adjust to Voro's figure. "I trust you justify coming in here uninvited with news of profound value, Admiral," Tyber growled.

"Profound, indeed, Lord-Admiral," the massive Sangheili responded, "Simba bid me hand this to you," and handed Tyber a datapad. Tyber looked over it, and frowned in concern.

"That's... that can't be," he said.

"What is it?" Kovu asked. Tyber didn't directly answer.

"You're certain of this?" he asked Voro.

"We checked it six times, old friend," Voro responded. "Simba has mandated excavation, and the crews are waiting on your word." Tyber remained silent, processing this.

"Darling, what is it?" Vitani asked, placing a hand on her lover's shoulder. Tyber looked to Vitani, with such a longing, worried expression. Whatever it was, Vitani imagined he was afraid of it.

"Vitani," he finally said, "You and yours are the only family I have left. I am on your side; I did not want to put you in this situation again."

"What situation?" Kovu queried. "Tyber, what's happened?"

"Your people have found something, haven't they?" Zira surmised. Tyber looked to Zira.

"Possibly what Darth Phospho is after here in the Pridelands," he affirmed.

"What? What is it?" Kovu asked.

Tyber closed his eyes, and sighed heavily, then inhaled, as though he was going to regret what he was about to say. "It..." He started. He trailed off momentarily, then returned: "It's a Forerunner Slipspace Portal device."

"And what does that mean for Phospho or us?" Zira asked.

"This device is believed to be the only one currently known in existence to have a direct link to Installation Zero... The Ark," Tyber said.

"I... thought the Ark had been destroyed," Kovu stated.

"Not in this 'verse, apparently," Tyber said. "And if the Ark exists in this 'verse, then it stands to reason the Halo Array exists here, too."

"So if Phospho got control of the Ark..." Vitani began.

"... He could hold the entire galaxy hostage," Tyber finished.

"That's suicide," Kovu disagreed. "He'd kill himself along with everyone else if he tried to activate the array."

"All things being equal, Kovu, I would agree – however, things are not equal," Tyber said. "Either Phospho doesn't know, or he knows and has some way to protect himself and his followers. In either case, we cannot allow him to gain control of the Ark." He looked to Zira. "And I sense – and foresaw – you would have a pivotal role in that campaign."

"I will not fail you, Lord-Admiral," Zira assured him. Silence followed this. Vitani still wondered – who was Phospho? Was he somehow connected to Nuka, who she'd seen in the canyon the day Tyber saved her life? It seemed too coincidental. But Tyber, as one trained in the Force, knew a true coincidence was rare, indeed. Vitani had to admit, this was scary; if the signs were accurate, she would soon partake in the Pridelands' first interstellar conflict...


End file.
